Kerrang! Analysis

Kerrang! magazine is based to an audience that listen to the bands and musicians that are featured in this magazine. The magazine is based mostly around the rock/metal and pop punk genre. This music is usually loud consisting mainly of electric guitars and drums.

This is a cover or Kerrang! magazine. At the very top there is a strapline stating what the magazine features inside. They are other bands that are regularly mentioned in the magazine. The masthead is behind the cover photo. The magazine is called 'Kerrang!' because it resembles the noise a guitar makes when you strum it. There is an exclamation mark to show that the music is loud. The writing is also in capitals to show this. The mashead has an effect to look like it's cracked, as glass cracks through the vibrations of loud noises.

 

The cover photo is of a band called 'You Me At Six' which has been featured on the front of many Kerrang! issues. The lead singer is at the front and the rest of the band members are behind him. They are all wearing casual outfits as their image is about keeping it real for their fans and not falling into the 'glamourous' celebrity catergory. The lead singer's facial expression isn't serious and it looks like he's having fun and showing off his personality. The rest of the band members look casual, like they're not trying to hard, emphasising their image of keeping it real. The banner goes across the magazine to give a cluttered feel as the magazine is about music that is different and not mainstream.

 

Inside every Kerrang! magazine, there are posters inside where readers like to collect and stick on their walls. The cover usually shows what posters are in the magazine on the front of the cover to make the reader interested in buying the magazine if they see one of their favourite bands or artists on the cover.

 

There is another strapline on the bottom of the magazine to mention all the other bands and artists that are featured in the magazine.

 

All the writing written on the magazine is written in capital letters and there is no variation in fonts used. However, there is a difference in colours and sizes, showing what writing is of most importance and what the magazine wants the reader to look at first.

 

The contents page also uses the same type of font for most of its text. The heading at the top uses Kerrang!'s logo and indicates that this is the contents page. There is also mention of the issue number and the cover date which is on the front of the magazine but not of high importance.

 

The pages are split into individual sections called 'feedback', 'news', 'win!', 'live reviews', 'posters', 'features', 'reviews', 'gig guide' and 'the K! quiz' which is the same with every issue of the magazine. This makes it easy for the reader to locate what they are most interested in in the magazine. 

 

Most of the page is covered with pictures from articals in the magazine. It clearly states what page you can find the featured pictures on and you can read additional information about certain pages on the contents page list. The main picture on this page is of Tay Jardine from the band 'We Are The In Crowd'. She is also not a 'glamourous' celebrity as her outside is very casual, she is not wearing makeup any different to what she would wear on a casual day out and her pose is showing off her care-free personality. She is smiling and not taking herself too seriously. There are other images taken from inside the magazine to show the reader what the page looks like inside to make the reader want to read the featured articles.

 

At the bottom of the page there is a letter from the editor where he can talk to the readers, this makes the reader able to see the person who make the magazine on a more personal level.The editor also includes a picture that is not so serious to make him seem more real to the reader.

 

The main colours used on the contents page are blue, yellow and black. Black and yellow is used a lot in Kerrang! magazine as they are colours that are normally assosicated with warning signs. As Kerrang! is about being different and loud and doing your own thing, this is highly appropriate.  

 

 

The title of this double page spread bleeds over both pages. The picture is well professionally edited as the main focus of the page (the picture) is brought to the front and the sofa in the background is at the back. The article is split into 3 columns which is common, making it easy for the reader to read as it is not all just one block of words, it's sectioned.

 

The language used is colloquial and friendly, the writer mentions lots of sarcastic jokes, even making fun of Ville Valo (band member of HIM). This makes the article enjoyable for the reader as well as being informative.

 

It is common for double spread pages to have all their information on one page and a picture on the other. The picture has a quote from the article that makes the reader want to read the full article. As the quote mentions a part in the interviewees life where things were difficult, the reader would be interested in this sort of information. There is also additional information that is not fit into the interview in an orange box on the right page next to the picture, which differentiates from the main article, making it easy to read for the reader because it in small chunks.

 

The colour scheme is orange, black and white. This is probably the only page in the magazine that has this colour scheme so the reader will not be bored through reading the magazine with the same colours showing up. It differs the article from the other articles making it memorable to the reader.

 

The picture used is not as casual as the other pictures in the magazine, as it looks very staged. It shows off his tattoos and his facial expression is serious. At the time of this interview, his band was going through a rough time and had not produced music in a long time, and had been dropped from Warner Brothers, which is what the article is interviewing Ville Valo about. His facial expression reflects this.