The Family That Headbangs Together: Black Metal Halloween Costumes
Halloween: the most sacred, and metal holiday of the year! This post has been a long time coming. I’ve literally DREAMED of this day for so long. I finally convinced Tony (and Doug) to help me conjure the dark lord & form our own black metal band this Halloween!
For those of you who don’t know, I grew up in a family who loved metal. I’ve always had a soft spot in my cold, black heart for all things black metal. No, we didn’t dress up as KISS. There’s a BIG difference between KISS and black metal. So here is your step by step guide, breaking down black metal & giving a run down of how we created our family black metal Halloween costumes!
WTF is Black Metal?
Hide your kids, hide your wife… this is the part of heavy metal history adults have always warned you about.
Let’s take a stroll down memory lane, back to the mid t late 80s. The term “black metal” came about in 1982 after the band Venom came out with an album called Black Metal. But I need to clarify that Venom didn’t create black metal. There are a lot of bands who are credited with laying the building blocks for the genre. During the 80s, lots of thrash metal and death metal bands formed the “prototype” for black metal.
I won’t get too detailed with the differences between thrash metal and death metal, but what makes black metal different is their thematic content. In the 80s, bands like Venom, Bathory, Hellhammer and Celtic forrest were the first wave of black metal. Then, in the 90s, a bunch of Norwegian bands like Satyricon, Mayhem & Immortal came onto the scene and developed the style that makes the genre so distinct.
I want to preface this post with the fact that I don’t worship satan. I just love music and have always been fascinated and entertained by the concept of heavy music and being decked out in all black clothes & face paint. Honestly, I don’t take it too seriously, it was all just in good fun!To put it into perspective, black metal is still cold & somewhat frightening for bystanders, but has phased out satantic lyrics for more nature-based occult lyrics. Oddly enough, a lot of black metal bands utilize mythical imaginings of writers like J.R.R. Tolkien. Yes, black metal songs actually reference characters and places in the Lord of the Rings. AWESOME!
How to Tap Into Your Black Metal Soul
A lot of black metal bands wear clothing that looks like it’s straight out of the Dark Ages. But we opted to go for spiked gauntlets and bullet belts.
Black metal has it’s own fashion. Most of the time you can spot black metal fans by their t-shirts with unreadable band names. These metalheads of your nightmares know that true metal attire comes from Scandenavia. If you’re looking for real black metal clothes, you’ll have to shop underground stores and shops in Norway, Denmark, Sweden & Finland. Unfortunately the true kvlt look is EXTREMELY expensive. So we decide to make our own clothes!
Black Metal Fashion 411
The first thing you need to find is a pair of tight black jeans. Think: almost leggings. You can find legit jeans from a brand called Anti-Sweden. But since we were trying to be cost effective, we wore some jeans we already own. Tony’s black skinny jeans are from Amazon. I wore a pair of vegan/faux leather leggings from REVOLVE.
We both opted for black cut off tanks we had in our closet. You can either cut a black t-shirt you already own, or buy one here.
Also, you can find a black metal band t-shirt. You might need to do some digging, but you can find a ton on Redbubble and eBay.
Black Metal Accessories
To make your costume even more extreme, start with a studded belt. Spikes and bullet belts are awesome awessories. You can wear them around your waist or across your chest like we did.
To take it to the next level, add spiked gauntlets. You can buy pre made gauntlets, but they can be really expensive (think of all the hard work and materials that goes into them). So Tony and I opted to make our own and also make a back plate for Doug! To make your own, you’ll need cardboard, black gaffer tape, nails & black shoe laces. We used some old Amazon boxes and cut them out to shape. Cut out a piece of cardboard that can fit to wrap around your forearm. Then, trim it to fit. Wrap it in black gaffer tape & push the nails through. To fasten, make holes down the edges and lace the shoelaces through to tie.
To make your costume even krieger, carry around a sword, axe or mace and add spikes to it. The more spikes you have, the more black metal scene points you earn!
Tony and I both got boots Viva Mondo Creeper Boots from T.U.K. Footwear.
Black Metal Face Makeup
No black metal costume would be complete without corpse paint. To did a little research and found these products:
- White Face Paint
- Black Face Paint
- Translucent Face Setting Powder
- Urban Decay All Nighter Face Setting Spray
- Makeup Sponge
- Paint Brush Set
To start, I used the makeup sponge to spread an even layer of white face paint on my face. Use minimal water so the paint doesn’t get too thin and runny. I spread the paint up into my hairline and on my neck so that I wouldn’t have a harsh line.Then, using a large brush, paint another even layer of white paint on your entire face.
Let it dry and then dust your face with setting powder. This will keep the paint intact and make it last longer.
Then, using a small brush and the black paint, add details around your eyes and mouth. The style mimics the face pain of norse oskorei. If you’re looking for inspiration, google “black metal face paint” or “black metal bands”. Then, just recreate the look. You can’t really mess it up, even it you make a mistake, it works and will look cool. You might need to mess around a little to get the perfect combination. I recommend using face setting spray to finish the look. This will keep your makeup from running or sweating off.
For more inspiration, check out this list of Black Metal bands! Turn up an album and get to work on your costume!
Shop Black Metal Halloween Costumes Supplies:
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