LAST MINUTE METAL COSTUMES
It’s Halloween weekend and don’t have a costume? Don’t fret, I’m going to help you out with some badass last minute metal costumes.
And no judgement for you leaving this so late (but not too late!). I love Halloween and ever year I tell myself I’m going to prepare an epic costume in advance and almost every year I’m scrambling last minute to throw something together. I do put in enough effort to avoid being a “cat” or some last minute online suggestion involving taping garbage to myself cause really? Also not a fan of the metal costume that is just a metalhead. Very lame.
A handful of years back I started dressing up as my favourite musicians and so far, it’s been awesome. Most of the stuff I already own, I look badass, and it’s super fun to pretend to be some of my metal heroes. So here are five suggestions for last minute metal costumes for Halloween.
KING DIAMOND
King Diamond is the PERFECT Halloween costume. He is arguably the most recognizable personality in the metal world and all those who are knowledgable of the King will think you’re cool AF. And those poor souls who aren’t aware of the awesomeness that is King Diamond? Well they may not know who you are, but they will still think you look cool AF. Win win scenario. I think this is my favourite metal costume!
WHAT YOU NEED
- FACE PAINT. I used eyeliner for the outline, black lipstick, and some decent Halloween face paint for the rest. Don’t go with the cheapest stuff if possible, you’re covering a good chunk of face real estate here. Also stock up on makeup/baby wipes for after.
- LOTS OF LEATHER. Pants, jacket or a vest, fingerless gloves. The King loves leather.
- PROPS. King Diamond is known for his crossbones microphone. I literally taped together two large plastic bones from a costume shop and then taped a microphone to it. Looking at some old live photos, seems like that’s pretty much what he did as well. Another prop idea, a skull/half skull is a great addition. No idea why I had one laying around but glad I did.
- ACCESSORIES. Chains, chains and more chains. Bunch of necklaces. A bullet belt if you have. Bonus, a black and red cape.
- Perfect your King Diamond metal face. I had a hard time with this one but also enjoyed myself thoroughly.
ALICE COOPER
There are so many different looks of Alice Cooper you can rock depending on how much effort and time you want to put in or what sort of clothes you have laying around. You got the classy white suit Alice or straight jacket Alice if you want to take it to a higher level (makes it hard to have drinks though so that’s some serious dedication and if you go that route I salute you). But dressing as Alice Cooper is also a pretty easy to do if you decide you want to go to a Halloween party an hour before it starts and don’t have a costume.
WHAT YOU NEED
- BLACK FACE PAINT. Or if you’re really desperate and don’t have face paint, a whole bunch of eyeliner and eyeshadow will do which is what I did and what I do not recommend.
- OUTFIT. Leather jacket if you’ve got it though Alice Cooper rocks a lot of other types of jackets as well. For the rest of the clothing you can rock more leather if you want, though simple black attire works too. You can also go with a white or red dress shirt.
- ACCESSORIES. A black top hat is an excellent addition if you have one. If not black gloves, some chains, and jewelry works
- PROPS. Lots of prop options for Alice Cooper. You can go with a simple microphone, rock a badass cane, or add a snake around your neck. I happened to have a little snake plush I won years ago at a carnival to throw around my neck and was complimented on it several times that night.
- WAYNE AND GARTH. If you have friends or see strangers dressed as Wayne and Garth do not miss the opportunity to reenact the classic “we’re not worthy” scene. Priceless.
The deciding to go to a Halloween party an hour before it starts? That was me a few years back. Managed to throw this Alice Cooper outfit together in just 20mins. Not too shabby I think! I entered the party as “I’m Eighteen” began playing and got chills. It was meant to be.
ROB HALFORD
If you’ve got a lot of leather and you’re looking for a kick ass costume then Judas Priest’s Rob Halford may be perfect for you. I find myself with a severely sprained ankle for this Halloween and though I’m going to drag myself out for a bit to celebrate, I was unable to go out costume hunting. Thankfully I already own a bunch of metal attire and am once again going to wing it.
WHAT YOU NEED
- ALL THE LEATHER. Seriously. Just head to toe leather if you’ve got it. Pants, vest or jacket, gauntlets, gloves. You can’t wear too much of it.
- ALL THE STUDS. Especially if you’re rocking 80’s Halford. I’ve seen many photos of him wearing three studded belts on top of each other, even wearing one as a sort of strap across his chest. If you’ve got anything with studs on it, wear it.
- THE HALFORD HAT. Pardon my ignorance, but I don’t know exactly what the style of hat is he’s wearing. While looking on Amazon (I need it quick without leaving my house) I looked up cabby hat, chauffeur hat, leather police cap, newsboy hat. Honestly I consider it the Halford hat but that didn’t lead me to many search results. The hat really brings the outfit together though, even if it’s not quite the same as Halfords.
- PROPS. The best “prop” is a motorcycle if you have it. Other more accessible ideas are a leather whip or once again, a microphone.
- BLACK SHADES. Aviator style if you have them but any black shades will do really.
OZZY OSBOURNE
Dressing up as Ozzy for Halloween is always an excellent idea. First of all, he’s the bloody Prince of Darkness! He is also very recognizable with both metal heads and pop culture fans in general. And it’s super easy!
I dressed up as Ozzy a few years back and thoroughly enjoyed cranking some Black Sabbath while getting ready and going around yelling “SHARON” after a few drinks. Unfortunately I got too into the character of Ozzy and forgot to take any photos.
WHAT YOU NEED
- BLACK OUTFIT. Sure, you can do a crazy 80’s Ozzy with one of his brightly coloured strip get ups but personally I’m a fan of the classic Prince of Darkness attire which is easier. Black pants, black shirt, black jacket. Done!
- BLING. Put on every ring you own and layer up those necklaces. If you’ve got a giant cross you can wear even better.
- SUNGLASSES. Ozzy wears circular sunglasses a LOT. This is a staple item to the look and an easy one to get. I found pairs at H&M and Forever 21 but you can also get some at costume shops, generally labelled as Hippie glasses. If you don’t go with the shades put on a lot of eyeliner.
- OZZY HANDS. Take a black sharpie and write Ozzy across your left knuckles.
- PROPS. You can rock a cane orrrrr bats. Go to a store with Halloween decorations, get a plastic bat, and go around pretending to bite the head off it. Classic Ozzy.
CORPSE PAINT
If all else fails you can always just rock some corpse paint. Cover your face in white paint, do some crazy black designs, wear head to toe black, and you’re good to go. This may be the easiest of all the metal costumes. You could go crazy with your creativity here and come up with something totally original or you can also go as Abbath as well.
And there you have it, five last minute metal costumes for Halloween. All of the above should be fairly easy for the average metalhead to throw together quite quickly without too much time or money. All of them can also be done to the extreme if have the time and cash to do so. Either way, remember, it’s not just about the outfit, it’s about the attitude. Whatever you decide to be this Halloween, rock it.
Happy Halloween!
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halloween leather jacket
To truly own those metal costumes, incorporate a dash of punk fashion into the mix. Rock on this Halloween!