Double Page Spread Analysis 7

This double page spread is from Kerrang! magazine and is based on the band Biffy Clyro. This is a modern and popular light rock band.

This double page spread is featured in Kerrang! magazine as they are a popular band, especially with people who listen to the type of music written about in this magazine and so they know that this particular band will attract readers and sell a lot of copies of this issue. The reader can see that the double page spread is from Kerrang! as in the bottom corner on a puff, in a small, and non-distracting sized text it shows the masthead next to the page number.

The article headline 'Demons Be Gone' gives an idea that the article will mention how the band have struggled with certain things. The article delves deep into the personal lives of the band members and reveals that one members metaphorical 'demons' means the severe depression that member Jim has been facing which has affected his band mates and also his performance, this is mentioned as he is trying to rid of his demons as the headline says. The colour of the headline is red, this colour signifies blood and danger which links to the ideas of demons and hell. The font used is rather sharp and jagged which suggests a sense of danger. The size of the text is very large and this could show the large amount of 'demons' they have to fight or the size of the battle they have faced.

The idea of the bands 'demons' are presented by the picture as the lead singer of the band Biffy Clyro is looking in the mirror but the reflection in the mirror is not the same as the original, the reflection looks more out of control, wild and dangerous which is what demons are. The background of this image is a plain white so the main image and the text are more in focus and the background isn't taking away the attention from the main features. The fact that the singer is shirtless in the photo shows his tattoos and highlights the rock genre that his bands music shows, but it could also suggest that the interview is vey personal and that the band are 'stripping' themselves of their rockstar images and showing their true struggles. This image presents the theory of Dyer as the director wanted the artist to pose in this way to support the headline that had already been written to sell the article.

The photograph spreads across both pages, this goes against conventions as usually the image takes up one page maximum. This then suggests that the article is different to others and may be more personal as it is mainly about this band and their experiences, it could also suggest that due to the lead singer taking up so much space, one of his 'demons' could be that he is selfish. 

 The text used in the DPS represents the genre as there is explicit language used which represents the rock genre and the rough and rocky style.

The text also tells the reader that James McMahon interviewed the band regarding their “long, hard road out of hell”. The lexical choice of ‘hell’ here suggests that the article is dark and displays their struggles throughout their bands existence, encouraging readers to find out more about their struggles and what they actually entail and links back to the headline regarding their 'demons'.

The main article begins with a drop capital, meeting conventions of magazine articles. The choice of a bold red complements the colour scheme of the piece and encourages the house style. Drop capitals are used throughout the piece after every three or four paragraphs. This could connote each stage of their journey.

 


At first glance there are a few quotations and speech marks used throughout the article suggesting to readers that the article is full of stories and anecdotes from the band, meaning the article would be interesting and include the reader in the bands journey to beat their ‘demons’ as the headline first said.

The font used is also a symbol of gothic horror which relates to the headline article as it mentions demons which are symbols of horror too. In my magazine I want the headline to link to the style of text and the rest of the double page spread as to link everything together instead of it all looking messy and thrown together.