The overall tone and connotations that the Metal Hammer
magazine has is quite dark and serious is continued from the front cover to
this particular double page spread. The use of the dark background and dark
colour scheme of black, gold and white suggests this dark rock vibe, giving it
a more serious tone. This double page spread contains 3 images although it is
still clear which one is the feature photograph as the photograph shows all
four members of the band Volbeat and is the largest photo on the page as it
takes up over half of the whole double page. The photograph fits in well with
the overall denotation as it the colours appear to have been edited to suit the
colour scheme of the text and overall layout. The colours of the image are
fairly dull and grey so all the colours on the page are rather similar so work
well together. On the first double page of the article, besides the feature
photograph, two other images have been used to add a little more interest to
the page and also could be to show the band in action when they are performing,
not just a photo shoot they have done for the purposes of this magazine. Both
types of photographs, the ones taken for the magazine and the ones where they
are on stage playing, have been used continuously throughout the article so
there is an even amount of each type again to show both sides to the band and
perhaps to get a look at what the band is really like when they are not on
stage.
The main text is in white which stands out well on the dark
background, but includes a gold drop cap on each new section of text. The use
of the drop cap highlights the start of each new part so gives a slightly
neater layout to the page, it also breaks up the text a bit so it is not all
one big chunk of text that some readers may find uninteresting to look at and
therefore may not show as much of an interest. The use of a pull quote on each page such as
“We turn up to towns where there’s nothing, and then a few thousand people show
up” has a similar purpose as the drop cap as it attracts attention and
encourages the reader to show an interest in the article as usually the pull
quote would be an interesting or comical quote that might persuade the reader
to look at the article. In the same way as the contents page and front cover
have, in each section designed to stand out to the reader the magazine has used
a bold font in white, gold or black with a gold background to for fill the
purpose of gaining attention. Throughout the magazine, a different font has been used for each of the
articles this suggests that the magazine is trying to show the individuality of
the articles and the artists, this could also indicate that the magazine is
implying as each of the articles are different, they are all worth reading and
taking an interest in. The overall house style for this article is quite
straight forward and not quite how you might expect Metal Hammer to be,
compared to the front cover of the magazine, although it does have aspects of
eye-catching features, it is not as bright and bold as the front cover as that
is persuading the reader to buy the magazine and they do not have the exact
same purpose.
The mode of address for the main text of the double page
spread appears to be more informative rather than trying to convey a chatty,
informal tone with the reader. It does not particularly engage with the reader
or treat the reader as a friend this is shown by the overall tone of formal,
non-colloquial language throughout the text. The use of language suggests that
the magazine, in particular this article, is aimed at an older audience due to
the formal tone but also due to some of the blasphemous language used. This article appears to
be more aimed at actual fans of the band rather than just the general audience
as in the interview with the band it includes stories about them and what they
do which some readers, who may not be interested in the band, may find boring
or uninteresting.
