Task 14: Sub-Genre Research (Heavy Metal)

Heavy Metal

Heavy Metal originated from certain sub-genres of rock and is characterised by its 'thick', distorted sound with the general intention of loudness, and general association with aggression and masculinity. The primary target audience for Heavy Metal is that of a young audience, generally men, between the ages of 18 & 25. Heavy Metal is known to be classed as a "subculture of alienation", implying a strong sense of devotion and self-reliability from their fans. Popular artists would be bands such as Slipknot, Metallica, and Black Sabbath.

Most Heavy Metal magazines have a varying layout for each magazine that is usually very messy in composition. The covers very often feature images of bands or singers from the Heavy metal genre with either the name of their band, or an incorporation of it into the main cover line. The fonts used are usually sans-serif, simple, and straight edged; except for in some cases where a much more gothic font is used, but only for the masthead and not for cover lines or headings/sub-headings. The primary colour scheme for Heavy Metal magazines usually uses lots of reds, blacks, and whites. The use of the colour red connotes a certain level of masculinity, violence, and rebellious nature that is well associated with  Heavy Metal as a genre.

Somewhat similarly to other music magazines, Heavy Metal magazines are primarily comprised of interviews and reviews of different bands from the Heavy Metal genre. Due to having fairly little variety in substance, most Heavy Metal magazines are often less than 15 pages in length. From the lack of length, it can be inferred that the magazines would not cost a great amount and would be released somewhat regularly, as opposed to seasonally, as certain other magazines do, although those are not often music magazines.