Front cover annotation.

This is the front page of Kerrang! magazine. Kerrang is a rock magazine aimed at 14-20 year olds. the name "Kerrang" is an onomatapoeia of the noise a guitar makes when it is strummed loudly. This connotates the type of music that will be found inside. In addition to this, the title font is always black, which is associated with "dark" music like heavy metal. The exclamation point adds to the "loud" effect. The logo font looks cracked, which can give the impression that the logo is glass, and the music is so loud, it has smashed. The title is at the top of the page, which is conventionally where all magazine titles are. This makes it easier for the reader to see when it is placed on a shelf.

The bar at the very top of the page knows that the audience of the magazine will also be intrested in attending "Download Festival" and shows assocation between the magazine and the festival, so that readers will connect the two.

There is a limited colour scheme of mostly black, white and red. This again adds to the dark feel of the magazines, and makes it appeal even more to the type of people who favour rock music.

The main picture is a mid shot, with the lead singer of the bad in the centre, and positioned so forward that his head blocks some of the masthead. The band members in the background are in similar poses and wearing black, but the lead singer again is different, in a different pose and wearing white to contradict the others.The lead singer also has his hood up, which backs up his mysterious persona. The main headline is white, as is most of the the font on the cover. The band however, are all looking the same way, and have the same moody, dark facial expressions. This connotates the type of music they make.

This magazine in particular is offering "free posters". This entices the reader, because everyone is attracted by thinking they will get a bargain or something for nothing, and the audience of the magazine are sure to like the artists in the posters and want to put them on their walls.

Words like "Plus" are used to show the audience that there is even more in the magazine, and in this case the word "plus" and then a long list of bands show that there are a lot of features in this particular issue, and again gives the reader an idea of getting a lot for their money, which is always a big selling point.

Unlike gossip magazines, the other headlines and stories are at the bottom of the page, rather than dotted around the main picture. This helps ensure that the reader is first drawn to the main picture and then as they read down, they see the rest of the features. Things such as the barcode, issue date and issue number are easily accessible at the bottom right of the page, but they aren't attention grabbing like the headline or picture.