In 2015, when the US avant-garde metal band Imperial Triumphant felt their image needed a refresh, they thought about adopting corpse paint—the eerie makeup made famous by 1990s black metal. However, singer and guitarist Zachary Ezrin explains they soon realized how much work it would be and how unappealing the post-show routine would feel: “You just rocked a show, and now you have to sit backstage and wipe off your makeup.” (One can only imagine the routine of the average female pop star.)
Instead, they opted for striking gold masks inspired by 1920s art deco architecture, though these came with their own challenges when they got lost during travel. “We had to do one show where Steve [Blanco, the bassist] wore a new mask we pieced together from parts,” Ezrin recalls. “We went to a Hungarian costume shop and just started grabbing stuff to assemble it.”
Similarly, Alpha, the masked and anonymous frontman of Portuguese black metal band Gaerea, notes the practical difficulties: “When you start to sweat, you can’t see shit, or breathe, or sing” while performing in a mask. “Last year we played a very tiny club in Stuttgart: super-packed, no ventilation. I can’t recollect a lot from that show because I blacked out one or two times from heatstroke.”
Despite these struggles and the added challenge to headbanging, many of the genre’s biggest stars still choose to wear masks. Bands like Ghost, Sleep Token, and Slaughter to Prevail have risen to headline festivals and fill arenas while keeping their faces (mostly) hidden behind elaborate theatrical creations. Since Sleep Token’s pop-infused progressive metal began dominating TikTok in 2023, other masked, genre-blending acts such as President and Cenobia have gained similar attention.
Many of these masked artists incorporate pop into their sound—Sleep Token, President, and the up-and-coming French band Sunborn blend heavy guitars with electronica-backed crooning, while Ghost carries a melodic flair reminiscent of ABBA. Others, like Portal, Briqueville, Batushka, and Kanonenfieber, remain unabashedly extreme. As with much in metal, it’s a male-dominated trend—perhaps allowing men to express themselves through costume in a way that might be mocked offstage—but there are also masked women, such as Cenobia and Maria Franz of the metal-adjacent Nordic group Heilung.
“We go into a different mode in our psyche,” says Alpha, when asked why bands across heavy music’s styles are drawn to masks. “I know a few people who run marathons, and they say that after a certain point, everything stops being difficult and you enter a trance. It’s the same with us.”
While there have never been as many masked metal bands at one time as there are now, the phenomenon isn’t new. When Slipknot exploded onto the scene in 1999, their image—a boiler-suited, baseball-bat-wielding gang with masks featuring spikes and obscene protrusions—made their ferocious music even more intimidating. Looking further back, the thrash seven-piece Gwar emerged from Virginia’s mid-80s punk scene and became the first masked metal band to truly resonate. Their gimmick, portraying ultra-violent warlords from the planet Scumdogia, parodied the theatricality of rising bands like Iron Maiden, who themselves had followed the lead of costumed shock rockers such as Alice Cooper, Kiss, Arthur Brown, and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.
“In Gwar, we were poking fun at how metal acts had these hints of satanism and monsters but were just dabbling in it, using it as part of their image,” explains guitarist Mike Derks, better known as Balsac the Jaws of Death. “We were like, ‘What if it were real?'”With their outrageous characters and costumes—including late founder Dave “Oderus Urungus” Brockie wearing a giant alien penis he called his “cuttlefish”—Gwar pushed metal’s gross-out aesthetic to new extremes. Everything was DIY. “We were digging through dumpsters, trying to find old couch cushions so we could carve up the foam,” recalls Derks. The approach was rooted in Brockie’s art-school background and his disdain for the snobbery of his classmates. The masks enabled larger-than-life satire: stand-ins for everyone from Queen Elizabeth II to Vladimir Putin have been torn apart onstage, and last year the band “killed” Elon Musk and Donald Trump at Chicago’s Riot Fest, angering the far right.
“In a sense, it’s just laughable, but it was scary when we were getting death threats over social media,” says Derks. “It did upset me when people tried to say, ‘Oh, you can’t do that.’ This is the country where we’re supposed to be able to do that! People were telling us we couldn’t do it after we’d been doing it for 40 years.”
Much like Gwar—though often more tastefully—many of today’s masked artists build their own mythologies. Ghost presents itself as a subversive, devil-worshipping church led by a skeletal pope, complete with a YouTube series and even a feature film about the clergy. Sleep Token’s songs, or “offerings,” are framed as devotion to a deity called Sleep. Since the band rarely gives interviews, countless articles and Reddit threads speculate about the “true” meaning of their lyrics. Masks and anonymity help these acts become more than just bands; they create immersive, multimedia worlds that fans can escape into. When Sleep Token headlined Download festival in front of 80,000 people last year, the crowd was filled with enthusiastic cosplayers. Ghost has fully monetized frontman Papa Emeritus, selling everything from replica masks to sex toys shaped like his mitre.
For Imperial Triumphant, the ornate, art deco-style gold masks they wear deepen the metaphor of their music. Based in New York, they blend chaotic, jazz-inspired rhythms, aiming to look and sound like the decaying, once-opulent remnants of the Roaring Twenties they encounter in the city. “Our masks are falling apart constantly,” Ezrin laughs. “The gold on them is literally rotting off sometimes, from sweat, travel, and performances. It represents the decay of this majestic beast.”
More broadly, Ezrin notes, “Masks have existed in every society and culture for thousands of years. They take you out of the picture and let you present a character—a god, an ancestor, or another being. That’s really compelling in a world like heavy metal, which is so strongly based around conceptual aesthetics.”
The catch is that, often unintentionally, masks can motivate fans to uncover who’s behind them. Tobias Forge was revealed as Ghost’s founder and frontman in 2017 after being named in a lawsuit by former bandmates, but he had actually been outed six years earlier when internet sleuths found him on a songwriting database. Sleep Token remains committed to its mystique, despite obsessive fans leaking one member’s birth certificate in January 2024. Rumors swirl around the frontman of President, a band that generated buzz by appearing on Download posters before releasing any music. Fans quickly scoured copyright documents and alleged the singer is Charlie Simpson of Busted. The band, who are touring this month, haven’t commented, and journalists interviewing them must sign NDAs to prevent leaks.
Gaerea isn’t as strict about anonymity. Although I’m asked not to reveal Alpha’s real name, he joiIn our video call, the singer appears without a mask and with their camera on. “As a listener, I don’t really care who’s performing what I’m hearing, whether it’s awesome or not,” they say matter-of-factly. The masks are the band’s way of avoiding any cult of personality: “We do value our privacy, but really, I just want people to focus on the music.”
Instead of rigid masks, Gaerea wear hoods, which are easy to travel with—they simply tie them to their belt loops at the airport. But back in Gwar’s heyday in the ’80s, things were more complicated. “Oderus and Slymenstra Hymen [former vocalist, dancer, and fire-breather Danielle Stampe] had to do an MTV appearance and fly to a show, and the airline lost both their costumes,” Derks recalls. “They smeared on some black makeup, and he bought a dildo from the sex shop next door and tied it between his legs. People loved it!”
Derks wears a massive, jaws-shaped helmet that conceals his face. “Being half-blindfolded all the time is difficult,” he laughs. “I’m also wearing seven-inch platform boots, so I’m always in danger of tripping over even the smallest thing onstage.” On top of that, Gwar actually loses money by touring, “because we take all the earnings and reinvest them into new shows. We could just keep touring with the same costumes we started with, but we always have to remake them, since they get destroyed on the road.”
All the bands I speak with agree that, despite the challenges, the masks enhance their artistry. “I love the presentation of Imperial Triumphant,” Ezrin says. “Even in 2026, when there are a million masked bands out there, I’d say we’re still unique: if anyone is wearing any sort of shiny mask, I get tagged in it on Instagram. I’m a huge fan of authenticity and forging your own image.”
Derks is encouraged by all the masked bands that have followed in Gwar’s footsteps: “I like that the band itself is becoming the show, instead of just relying on big light displays and pyrotechnics.” He adds that these masks allow musicians to tap into new aspects of their personalities. When the platform boots and giant jaws come off, Derks is a very different, much more reserved person: “I’m not as comfortable being the star when it’s actually me, and not a character.”
President’s UK and Ireland tour begins on April 11 at the Limelight in Belfast. Gaerea’s album Loss and Imperial Triumphant’s album Goldstar are both out now via Century Media. Gwar’s US tour continues until April 29.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about the trend of masks in metal framed around the memorable quote I couldnt see breathe or sing I passed out twice
Beginner General Questions
Q1 Why do so many metal bands wear masks or face paint
A Primarily for theatricality and identity It creates a memorable visual enhances the shows atmosphere and lets the performers separate their stage persona from their private life
Q2 Whats the point if its so uncomfortable Isnt the quote about passing out true
A It can be very true especially with complex masks The discomfort is a tradeoff for the visual impact Many artists see it as part of the performance challenge like an athlete wearing gear
Q3 Which popular metal bands are known for wearing masks
A Famous examples include Slipknot Ghost Mushroomhead and Lordi
Q4 Do they wear the masks the entire show
A Most do but it depends Some bands like Slipknot are famous for never showing their faces on stage Others might only wear them for key parts of the show or music videos
Advanced Practical Questions
Q5 What are the main practical challenges of performing in a mask
A The big three are exactly from the quote restricted vision difficulty breathing and heat buildup which can cause dehydration and passing out
Q6 How do singers manage to sing clearly with a mask on
A Its extremely difficult Solutions include customdesigned masks with breathable materials around the mouth internal microphone setups strategic mouth openings and immense vocal training to project efficiently
Q7 Are there different types of masks used in metal
A Yes They range from simple face paint or prosthetics to complex ventilated helmets articulated mechanical masks and latex or silicone fullhead masks The more complex the bigger the performance hurdle
Q8 What tips do performers have for dealing with mask discomfort
