Kerrang!

Kerrang is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock and metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent. It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper. Named after the onomatopoeic word that derives from the sound made when playing a power chord on a distorted electric guitar, Kerrang was initially devoted to the new wave of British heavy metal and the rise of hard rock acts. In the early 2000’s it became the best-selling British music weekly.
The rule of thirds was used to divide this magazine cover. The masthead at the top, the main image in the middle, and the major story at the bottom. This technique was used to help the audience distinguish the parts of the magazine, and have a clear understanding of the cover.
Marmozets are an English rock band from Bingley, West Yorkshire, England. Formed in 2007, the band consists of Rebecca "Becca" Macintyre, Jack Bottomley, Sam Macintyre, Will Bottomley and Josh Macintyre.
The camera shot used in this image is a long shot, however, the woman has come close up to the camera leaving the rest behind. This might be used to create her dominance over the others, or because she is the main vocalist of that band.
The main text on the image, “they’re back...Marmozets...and they’ve come for you all!”, is written in a formal font style. However, it looks like the colours used on them have been smudged around. The red colour used could also represent danger or blood as there are claw-like marks coming out of parts of the text which could connote harm and distortion. The use of ellipses twice in one text could connote extreme mystery and bring about enigma.
The masthead has the original Kerrang font style, however, it has been edited to relate and look like the text of the main story.The text on top of the masthead, “Cracking their secret code/The darkness”, could also bring about a sense of enigma. Yet, there is another minor story beside it “Bath time with Justin Hawkins” which could relieve the audience and provide some comedy for them.
At the bottom of the cover, there is the text “Pallbearer leading the new wave of heavy”. A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the casket at a funeral. People who listen to heavy metal are often associated with dead souls, or no emotions. The text creator might have therefore intentionally chosen pallbearers to represent this issue.
Also, there is the mention of Marilyn Manson. Brian Hugh Warner, known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, visual artist, and former music journalist. His stage name was formed by combining and juxtaposing the names of two opposing American cultural icons a sex symbol and a serial killer, in Manson's case; actress Marilyn Monroe and criminal Charles Manson.The rockstar was hospitalised after a stage prop fell on him during a gig in New York. He later cancelled nine shows as a result of the incident. Manson was performing at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC when a pair of giant pistols fell on top of him. This story is represented on the cover because Marilyn Manson is one of the heavy metal icons in the industry.
     
This double spread conventionally shows a big picture of the musician, Davey Havok.The page has one main image, which shows iconography, from the tattoos and the way the star is dressed. We can tell that the article is around rock music. The body language and facial expression used by the artist was chosen by the text creator, which lets the audience link the image to rock music. The image also links to the headline and article, this makes the article more fun for the audience and encourages them to read it.
The heading of the interview is a pull quote written in bold.This creates a more realistic feeling for the audience. The questions from the interviewer are in a different colour from the answers of the musician which distinguishes the two, making it easier for the audience to understand.The colours used are plain and dull which is also conventional to a rock magazine as it relates to the genre of music.There is also the use of the byline in this spread which tells the reader who the journalist and photographer is, making sure they get credit for it.
The purpose of this text is to attract an audience. It’s about Davey Havok, who is the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band AFI. He’s quite a popular figure, and this helps to draw the attention of the audience. It has a social context in that it's about reality; the life of a rockstar.
The way the text has been written in columns makes the page look neat and professional, making it more likely for the audience to buy the magazine again. By using the same font and colours, the page is easy to read and links well with the rest of the magazine, making it recognisable to the audience as it's in the heavy metal genre.
This layout is very conventional to a contemporary audience as they are used to the layouts and formats of music and lifestyle magazines.
The main image was intentionally put on the left side of the spread to clearly differentiate it from the text. The camera shot used was a mid shot. This was intentionally chosen by the text creator to show the tattoos on his arms. This is because the audience might associate sleeve tattoos with heavy metal music, and be familiar with that convention.
Mirror lights have been used around the page. This adds a sense of brightness to the double spread. It might have also been chosen by the text creator to emphasise on beauty and self care, as celebrities do their make up with mirrors of such sorts before they perform. The mode of direct is very indirect as it’s a quote of Davey Havok asking a question and answering it himself. The lexis used in the text is also informal.
Even though Kerrang is a music magazine, the text creator decided to involve the lifestyle of this particular musician in order to broaden its audience appeal.