G321 - Front Cover - Kerrang!

Kerrang! 

The masthead is beneath the image of All Time Low, so it’s clear that the magazine is still successful and well-known in the UK. It also shows that the readers can simply recognise the masthead by the cracked-glass effect on the font. 

The secondary images show the readers that there are other featured within this issue, so that if they don’t want to read about All Time Low, there are other things for them to look at and read. It shows that Kerrang! knows what their readers want from the magazine, which in some circumstances is alternatives to the main article. They’re aware of the fact that not everyone will like featured artists but will still want to read the magazine.

The advertisement of this issue being a “poster special” shows that Kerrang! has a young target audience as adults aged over 24 ‘typically’ wouldn’t be putting posters up in their rooms, whereas teenagers aged 13/15+ are more likely to do so. Kerrang! are clearly aware of who their readers are and what they want from their magazine.

 

The dominant image is of the band, All Time Low, who are clearly the main featured artist judging by the name in large print across the middle. This shows the readers that a small majority of this issue is dedicated to this band. With the words "Puke! Nudity! Total Mayhem!", it reflects what the personality of each band member is like, as well as the 'personality' of the band as a whole. This is also shown through their facial expressions; Alex Gaskarth, the lead singer, is pulling a jokey face to show that he's an easy-going guy who isn't a total diva like some people in the music industry are. Then the lead guitarist, Jack Barakat, is pulling a semi-serious face while the bassist and the drummer are also pulling jokey faces. These all reflect the personality of each individual band member as well as the band as a whole.

To add to this, the strapline says “Watch out UK, they’re here..” which shows the audience that this band haven’t quite cracked the UK but still do have followers. It’s as if this article is breaking the ice between ATL and the UK. It’s also like a warning for the UK readers that this band are going to cause mayhem during their stay, yet the band are clearly a young,band who want to have fun, which is reflected through the picture.

The colours of Kerrang! are rarely the same, yet they always use the three primary colours; blue, red and yellow. These are used on the name of the feature article and as backgrounds to coverlines. It's these colours which make Kerrang! seem like a loud magazine cover, and can catch the eye of the readers quite easily, since they can identify it.

Judging by the artists on the front cover of this magazine, it’s clear that Kerrang’s followers like pop punk/punk rock type of music; something that isn’t popular in mainstream music. There aren’t any pop artists such as One Direction included in this magazine, otherwise they’d lose their followers as they most likely dislike the band, and/or it's not their preferred genre. Their magazine can reach out to a variety of music fans due to the mention of Led Zeppelin, Metallica and Guns ‘n’ Roses, as well as bands like All Time Low and Asking Alexandria.This shows that the audience age range is varied in the sense of who to read about and how long certain bands have been making music for.