An analysis of Kerrang! magazines double page spread for OCR Media Studies coursework.

1. Kerrang! Feature Article Analysis
By Meghan

2. General
The magazine chose to interview the artist because they have a new album coming out. It is the band’s fourth album, so they will already have built up a large fan
base and therefore by reporting on the progress of the band’s new album they are more likely to have a lot of sales of the magazine. It is also a world exclusive so
they are keeping up a good relationship with the band and also will have more sales because no other band will be reporting on it. The article reflects the genre
because it mentions a lot about the rock and roll feel of the band’s album and particularly talk about the sound of the album. The target audience is most likely to
be fans of the band as it reporting on a new album that isn’t a debut one. However, because they talk a lot about the sound of the album, which would interest
people who had never heard the music because they can decide whether they like the music or not before they even hear it.
The DPS (double page spread) is part of a regular news feature, and underneath the news label it even mentions where you can get more information about the
article and other news.

3. Mode of Address
The text is quite informal and types the interview very much as a conversation. The writer talks as if he knows the bands personally, and has a few tongue in
cheek such as when he says “tentatively scheduled for next spring”. However, this makes the band seem quite fun. Although the interview isn’t particularly
funny, the captions on the photos are quite amusing. For example, to caption the picture of Gerard Way singing, the author has put “Oh no! I’ve forgotten to lock
the bloody front door…”
When reading the article, you don’t need to know a lot about the band, as everyone is introduced with their last names, and anything mentioned is labelled such
as when he talks about the album The Black Parade and mentions how it was in fact an album. There aren’t many references to anything that a fan wouldn’t
understand.
The only taboo language that is in the article is the use of “bloody” in a quote by the photograph. The text is mostly quotes from the artist that make it seem
like the artist is talking to the reader, but the introduction to some parts is by the writer. There doesn’t seem to be any semantic fields within the text and there
is no slang, alliteration or onomatopoeia, other than the use of “rock ‘n’ roll” and “emo”.

4. Layout
There seems to be an equal amount of text to pictures, however the pictures are somewhat bigger. The pictures are boxed but not exactly framed and there are
only 3 columns on the page, if you include the section talking about songs from the album. There is no text bleeding or wrapping.
We don’t see the questions laid outright on the page, it is mostly just descriptive quotes from the artist.
The title and subtitle are bigger than any of the text and have a variety of bold parts and parts in different colours. The title is the final quote from the article and
is therefore quite memorable for a reader as it is a direct quote from the band. The subtitle explains what the interview is actually about.
There is no visible byline on the page. There are no pull quotes except for the title. There is a drop cap at the start in red to make it stand out more.
The article seems slightly unfinished on this page as there is no byline so we can assume there is another double page spread. This is probably due to the use
of pictures which take up the majority of the space. There is obviously a lot that the writer wants to stay. However, ending on a quote makes the article seem
quite nice without any other articles.
There is an arguable box-out where the writer is discussing some of the tracks on the album, which is used to make the article less big and so that the reader
can focus on songs at one time and the news at one time.

5. Images
There is a variety of shots here with some in mid-shots and some mid-long shots as well as a variety of angles. None of the pictures are using direct address and
all of them are taken on location in the studio that MCR is recording in. This links in with article nicely as they seem to be action shots, so make the reader feel
closer to the process. The pictures are in black and white, which makes the red stand out more. It seems to fit in with a more rock ‘n’ roll feel as the black, white
and red are often associated with the type of music. There is a large variety of images, showing as many band members as possible. The only member missing is
Bob Bryar (Drummer) who can be seen in the background of the largest picture except not in focus. The most pictures are of the frontman Gerard Way.
There is a caption for every magazine. There are some humorous ones such as “Oh no! I’ve forgotten to lock the bloody front door…” and more serious ones such
as “Gerard Way: rock ‘n’ roll rebel”.
Picture Captions (Left to Right)
Gerard Way: Rock ‘n’ roll rebel
Mikey Way: Bass Hero
Gerard, Ray Toro and Frank Iero: men at work
Gerard: “Oh no! II’ve forgotten to lock the bloody front door…”

6. Small Details
There is a page number- the double page spread goes across page 6 and 7. The masthead itself is not on the page. There is no footer but the website is
mentioned to try and get more people to see the information on line.

7. The Article
Kerrang! Article (World Exclusive) in the News section
(Visit www.kerrang.com for all the latest news)
“We’re being the best MCR we can be!” My Chemical Romance invite Kerrang! to
their recording studio.
My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way has revealed to Kerrang! that the
emo superstars’ forthcoming, as-yet-untitled album will be a vast departure from
the epic grandeur and theatrics of 2006’s The Black Parade.
The New Jersey quintet, who have been out of the spotlight for over six months
are currently mixing their fourth studio album (which is tentatively scheduled for
release next Spring) at Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, California with
producer Brendan O’Brien (Pearl Jam, Rage Against The Machine).
“Our original game plan was to make a very quick, very visceral record,” says
Gerard, who reveals that, for the first time ever, this album will not have one
overall concept, instead focusing on several themes like “strength” and “self-
preservation”.
“To be able to let go of your game plan is really hard,” he explains. “There were too
many times where we had to really move on our feet very quickly and say, “No, the
album’s taking a turn and we need to accept it, because if we fight it we’ll end up
with a record that doesn’t make any sense.” This is the first time we’ve been able
to go through everything with a fine toothcomb. Everything is taking so much
longer, in a really great way. We’ve never been able to go through songs like this
and get things as great as we possibly can. It’s always been like, “You’ve got three
months to record and two weeks to mix, then you’re back on an airplane to go tour
again!” This time, we afforded the luxury of exploring every song.
“I’m really glad we did,” Gerard admits with a laugh. “It took a while to figure out
what the hell we were gonna do this time!”
Kerrang! had an exclusive playback of nine songs during the mixing process. The
songs- working titles for the tracks we heard include Black Dragon Fighting Society,
Boy Division, The Only Hope For Me is You, Save Yourself, I’ll Hold Them Back, Still
Alive, Death For Disco and Trans Am- are the most raucous, dirty rock ‘n’ roll gems
we’ve heard from MCR since their 2002 debut I Brought You My Bullets, You
Brought Me Your Love.
“Oh, it’s filthy,” notes Gerard. “That’s what I love about it!”
MCR’s overall sound remains as huge as we’ve come to expect since Black Parade,
but the band- also featuring guitarists Frank Iero and Ray Toro, bassist Mikey Way
and drummer Bob Bryar- have a new air of unabashed defiance.
“Even before my daughter was born,” says Gerard (who became a father in May),
“I was writing lyrics that were basically, if anything were to happen to me, and she
were to turn 15 years old, she’d be able to listen to it and realise that her father
and her father’s bandmates and everyone involved in this, weren’t victims.
There’s a huge amount of humour in The Black Parade but there was so much
angst.
“And now,” he continues, “there’s angst but it’s different. I think we’re rebelling
now as a rock band. We’re tying to keep it pure, but we’re not playing victims
anymore.
“We’ve realised that we’re one of the youngest bands at our size,” muses the
frontman. “So there’s a responsibility that comes with that, whether it’s to fans or
to outside listeners who aren’t fans, to be the greatest American rock band. That
was the goal. And it took a while to get there, but we’re just being the My
Chemical Romance that we can be.”
(Boxed) New MCR Tracks- The Lowdown
Here’s a teaser of what’s to come…
1. Save Yourself, I’ll Hold Them Back
Sounds like: Down ‘n’ dirty rock ‘n’ roll collides with stadium rock, with a big,
emotive My Chemical Romance chorus that makes you want to jump up and down
in a sea of thousands of other people.
Stand-out lyrics: “You can leave this world, leave it all behind/ We can steal this car
if your folks don’t mind/ We can live together if you’ve got the time…”
2. Still Alive
Sounds like: A bouncy playful romp- complete with all-girl gang vocals- about the
hazards of playing the Reading and Leeds festivals. Gerard wrote this anthem
from the perspective of a teenager getting ready to throw a bottle of piss. Tasty!
Stand-out lyrics: “We came here to rough up everyone we see/ Get off the stage
and ask yourself “Am I still alive?”…
3. Death for Disco
Sounds like: A thumping great ode to the pleasures of raucous rock ‘n’ roll
hedonism with an abashedly pop chorus.
Stand-out lyrics: “’Cos all the good time, they give you cancer…”
4. Trans AM
Sounds like: Huge melodies and epic songwriting intermingle to create a glorious
runaway teen riot.
Stand-out lyrics: “Gravity don’t mean too much to me/ Is this our destiny/ This
world is after me…”