FontThe font has carried on the house style that the cover set by using the same font type, this font however can be tricky to read and so has only been used on the bigger texts such as the subheadings or titles. This means the house style can be maintained, while at the same time the font identifies the subheadings because they are in this unique font. The font used to describe the subheadings is a regular small font that focuses on ease to read, this is because it is also the contents page’s purpose to inform the reader rather than draw them in such as the cover will focus on. By this point the reader is already quite drawn to the magazine and so while fancy fonts continue to act as a pull to the magazine, the font must also be practical. A very interesting and unique aspect the font uses is the big letter L, this is similar to old books when they depict an epic or meaningful tale, and this is the case, in the form of a callout in memory of a lost Metal band member

Editor’s NoteThe editor’s note in this magazine is similar in appearance to a newspaper column. This may reflect how heavily opinionated his language is. The point of the editor’s note in this magazine is to breach the gap of formality that the magazine and reader have and to create a mood for the reader to occupy while they read the magazine. One of the most important things about this note is how the editor uses direct language to the reader and often uses “we” in his text creating a link between the audience and the magazine creators. This sense of involvement will encourage the readers to continue reading because they feel welcome as part of a group, all collected together and who share the same interest in music. There is no evident discrimination and there is no mention of stereotypes, in fact the editors calls out to the deceased band member is very emotional which disputes the heavy metal stereotype and shows the intimate relationship this magazine has, among itself and with its audience.

SubheadingsThe subheadings in this magazine’s contents page are personalised and require the audience to be fully invested in the genre to understand the subheadings. Ones such as “Spanish Inquisition” require an understanding of the metal culture and how they refer to upcoming bands in this sense. Other subheadings such as “metal detector” are puns that take a literal object and using the genre twist it to their use, this subheading would reference new metal bands that the magazine has found and think may become something.An interesting convention that this magazine has altered is the size of the sub-headings, the band names are bigger than the subheadings. This tells us that the magazine is a very band based product that recognizes each band’s own ability.

AdvertisementsAt the bottom of the page are advertisements for 2 other magazines of similar genres. This callout could also be expected to be reciprocated in the other magazines. This advertisement shows that the magazine is not necessarily competitive and focuses on pleasing the audience, if that means the audience are also buying their competitors magazine it doesn’t matter. The target audience of this magazine are the sort who stay loyal to a magazine and will not ditch them just because a better magazine has been recommended. The budget for the heavy metal lovers all goes towards their fandom and so an extra £5 a month is surely within reach without having to sacrifice their existing subscription, it’s extremely likely these readers read more than 3 heavy metal magazines already.The contents page also continues to advertise its own merchandise as well in the form of stickers posted near the corners that inform the reader where they can find more information regarding the products.

ImagesThe images used on the contents page cover a wide range of facial expressions and moods, however the overwhelming similarity between them all is the unity and companionship they each show. Most pictures feature a group shot of some kind and even the lone shots such as the girl at the bottom, she is performing a generic metal rock gesture that is performed worldwide by lovers of the genre and that the bands gesture themselves. The images are also not limited to a box format, the girl is also not in a cropped box like the other images, this could be because she is advertising the merchandise and so the magazine has done this to make her stand out against the other images to create extra presence for their merchandise.

LayoutThe layout of this magazine is very unique, with a tabloid-like editor’s note on the right hand side, where our eyes naturally fall, marking it as an important feature of the page. After reading the note I agree that it deserves this attention. The contents themselves have been split into 2 categories: “features” and “Regulars” this is a great navigation tool for the frequent users because they would be unfamiliar with these features segments which presumably change with each issue of the magazine. The stickers referencing pages are dotted across the right side of the page, where our eyes naturally fall, in order to try and draw attention to them. The central sticker is in the most prominent and typically is the most advantageous aspects in the magazines eyes, a subscription advert. It is small, however its placement will secure its attention.

Colour SchemeThe prominent colours that make the colour scheme are carried on from the front cover: Red/Black/white. This continues the house style and the magazine has even managed to darken the white by putting it In a magazine-like background. This generally darkens the magazine and gives a more punishing look to the magazine, this is amplified further by making the edges of this “newspaper” visible giving it a “hardy” appearance, a trait generally held by most fans, this gives them a sense of belonging.