Primary Research - Magazine Analysis - Metal Hammer Cover

Metal Hammer magazine

        Metal Hammer magazines feature music of the metal genre, though this is apparent with the themes and poses we see on the front cover. It features obnoxious, exaggerated, 'free' poses of Heavy Metal artists, screaming and showing signature poses, such as the open mouth screaming to show noise, and the aggressive hands signatures. Also, the camera is positioned so that the facial and hand expressions are conveyed and clear to us, the reader, so as to help identify the theme and mood. Furthermore, they are shown to display their tattoos, which is another trait common amongst the genre. The models are also well known to the genre to display relevance and attraction for the intended audience, meaning that the genre is clear to us as well as relevant and so appealing; If an image of an unknown artist completely irrelevant to this specific genre was featured at a long range away, then people would be less drawn to it.

      The front cover is slightly different to the card cover, as once the main details are mentioned, i.e. Titles, pricing, skylines, buzz words - Nothing more is needed, and so the magazine front cover can focus on an image or object of importance to the cover (almost definitely including similar models to the card cover). Metal hammer chose to include the members of 'Five Finger Death Punch', as this is the magazine's main story. They are shown in varying poses, possibly relating to their place or personality within the band, or possibly to show their trademark features; The band leader (to which I presumed due to him always giving direct contact to the reader and due to the fact he was featured as the main model on the card cover) is shown to display his skeletal hand tattoo again, which looking directly at the camera as the center of attention. We also have the bearded man displaying no obscurities to his beard, hence the reason he was placed in that position; his head is slightly covered by the title, but his beard is not. We also have a side view of the 'dreadlocked man', as his hair is only fully visible from the side.

      The front cover also features 'buzz words' of which are relevant to an audience associated with the magazine; It is not a 'one off' magazine such as a help guide or local information magazine, and is focuses on a specific recurring audience; nobody interested in local attractions or classical music would buy this magazine. Furthermore, we are shown that a 'freebie' will be given away with this magazine, which would greatly appeal to those interested in this genre for obvious reasons, as well as it being a 'physical gift'. People are much more interested, in the short-term, in purchasing products with physical and instantly obtainable gifts opposed to offers and deals with conditions and specific dates, though this obviously differs from person to person. We are also given a thick, bold, sans seriff title of which is slightly covered, but this is acceptable as frequent and repetitive audiences will understand and know what the text says.

      Lastly, the colours used suit the genre further, as it is often associated with dark colours or highlighted reds amongst the blacks and greys. The style of writing is almost 'tattoo-like', as artists of the genre tend to indulge in creative and symbolic tattoos, displaying rebellious behaviour often. Due to the dark clothes used on the card cover, the background colour is white, so as to avoid blurring or loss of focus and sharpness of the men featured, and a similar feature is used on the front cover, as it exhibits a black and white colour palette, so text is changed to black due to the background needing to grey and white-out to suit the colours of the characters.