| Product: |
Bang Magazine |
| Date: |
07/07/03 (163 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Informative, Nice layout, Good, reliable reviews
Disadvantages: Some sections a bit short, e.g. singles reviews
New music magazines have a history of being here one day, and gone the next. Most usually end up going one of either two ways - not last much longer than a few years (if they're lucky), or proving to be popular and staying the course. One of these that should fall into the latter is new music mag 'Bang'.
'Bang' magazine was launched in March 2003 (about four months ago), and appears to have been a hit. Although I only bought it by chance, it was definitlely a good purchase. I expect some people will not have heard of this magazine - which is fair enough, as it isn't very widely advertised (I've only heard adverts for it on Virgin Radio), but is sold at most newsagents. 'Bang' also uses the slogan 'It's only Rock 'n' Roll', which gives it a bit more identity.
The magazine itself is a very typical music mag, containing a good mix of news, reviews, interviews, unique features and loads of pics of people in music. And there are also lots of adverts, mainly for new albums and singles, and for the benefit of specific record companies or record shops (such as HMV).
'Bang' always contains the following sections:
- 'Post' (letters page)
- 'Accelerator' (containing an interview with a specific band, usually up-and-coming)
- 'Juice' (mainly a news section, also containing a diary and some shorter features on things for that month)
- 'Reviews' (self-explanatory, but always on singles and albums)
- 'Books' (a look at new books, some of which are reviewed)
- 'Films' (same section and style as 'Books')
- 'Dead Fashion' (a look at a deceased rock icon and their life, especially in music)
- 'Rock City Guide' (a feature on a specific band/artist's home town or city, from their point of view)
- 'Live' (reviews of recent live gigs) <
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- 'Strip' (an animated story, always featuring people in music)
- 'The Back Door' (a look at a current controversial issue, but done in a satirical way)
As well as these, there are always 'Stories' - good, in-depth interviews with 8 different and varied bands/artists, some are quite long, others short, usually no more than about 8-9 pages. and All of this means that there should be something for everyone in 'Bang', and there certainly is plenty to read.
For me, the reviews in any music magazine usually make it worth buying (sometimes the only thing). 'Bang' contains plenty of reviews, mainly on albums, which are in alphabetical order. Nearly all album reviews are informative, unbiased and overall are hard to fault. They even tell you 3 things that (supposidly) inspires each band/artist on every individual album. The albums reviewed are also wide-ranging in terms of genres - from chart pop to more experimental styles. And like nearly every music mag I've read, 'Bang' has one 'album of the month', usually highly-rated. That said, there aren't really many singles reviews - a whole section would be good for this.
'Bang' also occasionally gives away something free with every copy. So far, they have given away a CD with one issue, but the current issue features free rock posters, all of currently popular bands. This is a good incentive to buy the magazine, but not essential.
As an overall music magazine, 'Bang' is probably one of the best out there at the moment. It is definitely informative, interesting and sometimes hard to fault. Although the overall content is fairly adult-orientated (in every sense of the word), meaning it's not really targetted at young people. But if you like the rock and alternative genres, or just want to buy a fresh new music mag with plenty on offer, then 'Bang' is definitely worth check
ing out.
Summary:
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Last comment:
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weemam - 03/10/03 not my kind of thing really but a good op :o) margaretxx |
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