Kerrang Contents Page Analysis

I have been looking at and analysing different contents pages from music magazines. I found this Kerrang contents page is suprisingly clean looking and neat when compared to the usual style of the magazine. The colour yellow they use on their masthead every week on the front cover is splashed across this contents, the same yellow that is used on danger or caution signs.

Kerrange Double Page Spread Analysis

This double page spread has all the features the acts on a Downloads 2007 festival line-up. The puffs in this immediately get our attention. The colour is very similar to the yellow colour painted on roads, it is an eye-catching colour, almost alarming, and grabs the attention of the reader immediately. These puffs contain the stars of this festival answering a question and that will be very important to hardcore fans. The style of the puffs are like paint being spread carelessly onto the page. It is clear the pictures have been taken during the show, and during the act, it gives energy to the spread and looks exicting. The way the artists are holding their guitar or mics, their tattoos, their clothes and the expressions on their faces are giving us the impression that it is very loud heavy metal music, and that is only from the pictures. In the text, the names of bands are in capitals and are bright red, while the rest of the text is black. This makes it easier for the people who only want the details of the line-up, as they can see clearly who has played at this particular fetival. It shows the festival was maybe 'dirty', 'grungy' and 'messy' which will appeal to many readers. It is the complete opposite from my previous analysis of the NME magazine I did earlier. While that double page spread gave the impression of a clean, new band, this gives us the impression that these artists are experienced and well known, and are therefore allowed to act in this way.

NME Double Page Spread Analysis

This double page spread featured in NME, introducing a new band named the Teenagers. The photograph is large, because they are trying to make the readers become familiar with their faces, and the messy pictures in the background represent the lifestyle they lead; it links in with the band name. The titles that feature in this page are all in capitals, meaning they want your attention, and give the impression that this band is loud. The main colour used is blue, which may portray the band as being 'fresh' and 'cool'. It may also give the idea that they are boys who want boys to listen to them, they don't want to appeal to females. The puff that says 'NME loves' is attractive to anyone who trusts NME's taste in music. The puff that quotes the band saying 'Of course we're a sexual band, We're the Teenagers and that's all they think about,' gives us the meaning behind the name of the band and may help them appeal towards all teenagers and that they can relate. Their body language in the picture seems lazy and care-free, giving us the idea that their music is laid back and something to listen to when your relaxing. They also have other bands being introduced on the side, but the layout still gives the idea that NME prefer The Teenagers over these other bands. They have at the very bottom a puff with Alex Turner, the lead singer of The Artic Monkeys' face in, and his favourite new band 'The Rascals' featured underneath. Any person reading this that belongs to Artic Monkeys huge fanbase will be instantly attracted to this, and will probably listen to The Rascals after they have read this. The colours and pictures link this spread together, and it looks clean and easy to read. It still has a 'young, messy' feeling to it, but it gives the impression that this band is fresh, new and worth a listen.