Genre Research: Heavy Metal

As I chose Heavy Metal and Hard Rock as My chosen music genre, for my Magazine, I have decided I shall analyse a few heavy metal and rock magazines.

I have started with the Magazine 'Metal Hammer'.

The front cover shows an artist, who is shown as smashing glass with his fist, shouting also. This agressive persona personifies the heavy metal genre, which is a very strong, and powerful form of music. The Title is across the top of the page, however the title is placed behind the Image, showing not nessearily that the artist is more important than the magazine, but that the magazine is well known by its audience. Artists are displayed at the very top of the page, where they are, apart from the title the thing that grabs your attention.

The one thing that is absent from the Page is a subheading or other writing, other than the title and artists at teh top. This lures the reader in, as we may wish to find out more about whats inside this magazine, whilst still being entertained by the uninterrupted picture.

I have decided that my front cover needs to be both attractive and agressive, to draw in the fans of the genre, the front cover should perhaps contain one image, with few or little text accompanying it, but enough to make the reader curious about what's inside, and want to read on.

Music Magazine Double Page Spread Analysis III:

The double page encompasses one large picture on the first page, with the article to the right, this way as soon as the reader glances, he sees the picture first rather than the bloc of text, so it i smore appealing to read. The Track listing at the bottom links the two pages, as it spreads out across them. The Title and subtitle are both in different fonts and sizes, and coulour than the rest of the article, and thus make them easier to stand out. The Picture itself is of stark contrast, with the artists in all black against a white background, it instantly drags your attention to the artists, as they stand out from the rest. The Central person is starring straight at the reader, and is central in the picture, shwoing him as the frontman of the band Green Day.

Title Font Experimentation and Analysis

I decided to begin my planning for my music magazine by working on the title, i came up with the name 'Revolt' as it seemed both catchy and would suit its target audience.

I wanted a font that would both incorporate the Industrial style of modern music with the rebellious look,to appeal to a target audience of young adults.

Font 1: This font I decided was a good one, I liked the outline of the shape and the positioning of the text, however I decided that I wanted my title to have the appearance of texture, not just solid.

Font 2: This font contained the Texture i was looking for, however I did not like the positioning nor the shape of the text.

Font 3: I decided that this font appealed to me, the texture of the Font was the effect I was looking to include in my music magazine, the background being black I decided it could only be used on a music magazine of the same background cover, as I wouldnt want my title to be segregated from the rest of my front cover.

Font 4: This font was the same as font 3, but there was no background, and the text was black instead of white, I decided that this font would be fairly suitable for my purpose.

Font 5: This font used a character layout which I thought would go well in a music magazine, however the lack of texture led me against using it as a title font.

Font 6: This font both didnt appeal to me in texture nor layout, the font did not suit the text well, and I wouldnt like to use it as a title.

Font 7: This font suited my needs in layout, the almost Chemical look would assist towards the industrial look I was going for, however the lack of texture would again lead me to abandon using it as a title font, unless I discovered a suitible texture to apply to the font.

Music Magazine Title Survey

I came up with a shortlist of titles which I think would suit my music magazine, these titles were then shown to 15 other students, which then chose which they thought wold best suit a Music Magazine concerntrating on Heavy Rock.

Revolution - 2

Revolt! - 6

Infection - 2

Built to Last - 1

Victim - 4

Revolt was the Overall winner with 6 Votes, I have also decided to use this as my title, as it is catchy, and fairly Imaginative.