Metal Hammer Analysis..



                                            Why did i choose Metal Hammer?



Front Page of Metal Hammer

I chose Metal Hammer as one of my magazines to analyse due to two reasons, first was due to the music within the magazine, I enjoy the music and a lot of the bands that are shown within the magazine have influenced many of the present music styling within that genre. I also like the layout, as it is not too busy on the page.

Layout

I like the way that there are multiple artists on the cover to the right of the magazine, with the text saying who they are going over the images in a bright yellow font which is not too garish. Also the rule of thirds does apply to this magazine, even though it does not show due to the images normally being central to the cover showing a bold outline of the rule of three.

Images
I really like the poses that the musicians are pulling. Especially with Ozzy's being in reference to his tattoo on his knuckles of 'OZZY' showing off his name so potentially people know who he is even though he is an iconic person within the music industry. I also like that the images are overlapped from three(?) different artists as it creates an easier understanding of who the reader should expect to see within the magazine. Also below the writing on the left (with the black rectangle background and grey writing) there is an image which is easily recognisable and also looks like what someone may get tattooed, which then links in with Ozzy showing off his tattoo on his knuckles, and also the bearded man at the back showing off the tattoo on his arm/face.

Font

I like the use of capital letters with a fairly average font, so that it is easy to read and no mistakes can be made with what the words say. I like the font used for the Masthead as it stands out and is bold. I also like that word 'metal' is within the 'H'. I have taken this inspiration with my magazine, placing the word 'Music' next to the 'T' or within it.

Colour Palette

I like the predominately black colour palette theme, but with the important phrases/words in yellow or red. I shall be taking the same kind of style as this within my magazine. I think that this stands out very well due to them being bright colours, yet no gender would feel like the magazine was not aimed for them as they are both relatively unisex colours.

Contents of Metal Hammer (1)

 Layout of Contents

With the contents being over several pages I like this feature, as it gives a chance for the articles to be shown off better by giving the key information and what will attract the readers more underneath. It also allows there to be more images within the contents highlighting even more what the key features are and who the magazine is starring other than the artist/s on the cover. Also the 'With the iPad edition' it highlights what the magazine has to offer for those who have who have got the magazine digitally,and it may even include videos of interviews or live shows. I really like this feature and I may use it myself. (2) I like that on the bottom of the page there are prints of what the pages will look like so that you can gather the information easier by just looking out for the images or layout.



Contents of Metal Hammer (2)

Images on the Contents

The images down the centre of (1) are album covers which are linked to the article which the numbers are referring too as they are linking to their best album (such as on the Rage Against The Machine image). Also on (1) there are images on the left hand page of what images presumably would be on the two page spreads of that artist/band. I like that feature as it gives the magazine an interesting theme as they give a lot away which a normal magazine would not do. Also the image on (2) I like a lot because the artist is looking up as if to look at the people who came up with the Mayan Prophecy in a disapproving way because they now have to focus on what will occur during 2013. I also like the large image as it is highlighting (again) the articles which the reader is about to come across and what they are to expect from the artist which has been featured and what is coming up with them.

Font on the Contents

The font with the information about the articles is quite plain, therefore meaning that it is easier to read as if there were a fancy italic font then it would not be very good as it would be very hard to read. Also if there was an italic font then it would not fit in with the theme of the magazine, nor would it be associated well with the genre of music which it focus' on. Also, the title fonts look like stamps with raw edges, by that I mean that with the lettering such as on an 'E' the top line and bottom would hang over slightly, I like this as it makes it look un-neat, but also something like what would be placed on band merchandise (such as Lower Than Atlantis).

Colour Palette of the Contents
The colour palette is Black, white and red, barr the images. I think that this is a good approach for this magazine as bright colours would not be accepted very well by the target audience, meaning that they may be put off of buying the magazine as if the colours are wrong towards the music genre then they may assume that the music/artists that they put within the magazine is incorrect for the genre of what the magazine is supposed to be.

Additional comments for the Contents

I like the positioning of the title of the contents as I think that it is effective and you don't really need a large heading as the reader will be able to assume that the front few pages are for the contents. I also like that it is red as it makes it stand out just so that people can see the heading.

Layout for Double Page Spread
The logo of the band being on the first page (the image and then their name) is really effective and productive as it enables the reader to know straight away who the two page spread is about and whether or not they will read it. Also the left page complying to the rule of three with the two columns and the images in the middle, I think that this is effective as it enables the reader to link to the images as they are reading the article, making it easier for them to understand the article. Also, I like the positioning of the opening paragraph to the article (underneath the band name) as that also gives the reader the ability for them to see if they want to read the article or if it was already stuff which they knew about and wasn't interested in.

Images on the Double Page Spread
The image on the left is ironic with the connotations of the image due to the caption, using the word 'Died' and the use of guns which connotes the image of death and danger. Therefore it would entice the reader to read the article as they would want to use know what it is about. I may use this technique if it is proved to be a good technique on how to get someone to read an article. Also, the live image on the left hand side links in with the article which is what I am going to do anyway within my article as it will help the reader to understand the article better. Also the bottom image on the left hand side links in with the image on the right as they are both posed in a similar way to tie in the whole article.

Fonts within the Double Page Spread
The font is the same as the contents which is a clear, and small font, therefore making the article easier to read. With the font being small it enables there to be more writing within the article, meaning that the layout of the article would not be affected. However, if the font were any smaller then it would have been harder to read making the reader doubt whether they would want to read it as it would be difficult.

Colour Palette of the Double Page Spread
The colour palette of the spread is black/white (monochrome) as most of the images of the group from the age that they are in the images are in black and white. Also, the simplistic colour palette enables the reader to read the article easier as they do not get distracted by different colour changes. Also the colour palette enables the image of the group stand out more as it is the only thing on the page in colour, drawing the readers eyes to it.