Front cover research 1: Metal Hammer

This is the front cover that I will be analysing is by Metal Hammer.    

The magazine itself concentrates on the genre of Rock/Metal, and you can clearly see this because of the design and the bands featured that classify as metal/hardcore. 

The Masthead

The masthead has edge and is very sharp on most letters which interprets the genre being edgy, also is capitalised and in sans serif. 'Metal' is placed on the side of the H in hammer, and it is a very clever design, it also being their housestyle, it looks exactly the same on all of the covers. I think that it is in gold because it represents the quality of the music - 'Gold'.

This little quote is interesting because it is used to interest the reader as to what type of cult? Who is we? and is a very good puff.

The Image

The lead singer of the band is standing at the front, which makes him appear taller and more menacing than the rest. What is interesting is that he is the only one grinning out of the whole band, whereas the rest keep their faces serious which feels intimidating, and makes it look appropriate for a metalcore band. The tattoos are visible on almost all of the members which is a symbol of rock and edge, rebellion. The two of the models/members that are standing on each side of the lead singer have dog tags on their necks which makes them look even more intimidating and punk. What is unusual is that every member is wearing mostly black but the lead singer, who is wearing denim, this is interesting because it isn't a convention of rock/metal, but leather is. This is going against it, but not in an extreme way which is interesting.

The overall picture looks like the lead singer is being backed up by the other members, which makes them appear like a gang, and gangs are usually represented as menacing or hardcore.

The Fonts

The font of the band's name is very sharp and appropriate for it's genre. The colour is also gold, which can imply that the quality of their music is amazing .

'Declare war on the mainstream' is in white and is serif, but it is thinner and catches attention. The writing itself implies that the band wants to rebel and fight the usual and basic everyday which they call 'mainstream' which can also be linked into the way they pose, as if they are prepared for a fight.

Feature/Cover stories

There are none which is very unusual and it breaks the convention of a front cover of a music magazine, because the whole point in having them is for the customer to pick up the magazine and be intrigued as to what is inside. However this front cover doesn't do that, it rebels against the 'mainstream' of a front cover and it makes it look very interesting as it looks more like a poster than a front cover for a music magazine.

Extras

 The skull with the bat wings looks very rock, but is also the signature sign of the band, which  suits the genre of both, the band and the magazine very well.

It is in black and white which makes it look rather menacing, and it makes it quite conventional due to the nature of the band.

The bar code is a convention that no magazine dares to break, as it is essential in order to sell the product. Team Rock is next to the bar code, which is the name of the company that owns Metal Hammer. It is in serif font and is in very sharp colours which fit their purpose.

'The heavy metal bible' is a little slogan which is written in tiny font underneath the masthead,which is a very clever slogan as the reader will remember it after reading it because it refers to the bible, and how it is the core of Christianity, and this implies that Metal Hammer is the core of Metal.

Relevance to Theorists

This front cover is very relevant to Richard Dyer's theory which claims that 'A star is an image,not a real person..' which I believe is exactly what this front cover is telling me as a reader, that these band members have been made to stand in that pose, and have those facial expressions and were made to wear sunglasses at a dim place plainly because it makes them look intimidating and like a hardcore band. 

how this research influenced my planning and creativity:

• I would like to have cover stories, leads and puffs etc... to make my front cover more interesting
• I would like my front cover to be more colourful