| Product: |
Kerrang! |
| Date: |
27/09/00 (93 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Style & Content
Disadvantages: None That Wouldn't Seem Trivial
Just like your average married man shall always reach for FHM, and every computer fanatic shall flock instinctivly to Edge, the world of rock music has it's own bible amongst the hords of worth-less publications, and that is Kerrang!
Now the thing about Kerrang! that makes it ideal for me, is how it's and my own music tastes seem to match perfectly. Leaning towards to more pop and rap market is Melody Maker, that deals with the kinds of bands like Sterophonics or Travis that I have little time for, while at the other extreme you have magazines like Metal Hammer, that caters for the kind of heavy metal and old-school stoner bands I only like in part. Kerrang! how ever, gets the happy-medium just right, covering the perfect range of bands in it's articles and news, from punk-pop jobs like The Offspring or Greenday, to the heavy and nu metal bands such as Slipknot and Korn that I enjoy.
But Kerrang doesn't only have the right ideas and intentions, it follows through to make an excellent read too, and that is week after week.
When it's front cover isn't graced with some star of rock (like, of late, Marylin Manson and Slipknot), great features like 'the hundred greatest riffs...ever' take their place. This speaks volumes, in my view, for the strength of writing in the magazine that is doesn't have to rely on big name photos and interviews to sell, but can always fall back on the quailty of content too. For the writing is indeed quailty, getting the perfect balance of pointless yet amusing sections such as the 'gob-o-meter', in which the weeks stupidest quotes are high-lighted, and more serious reads such as a recent article on the current fad of rap/rock convo bands, with a plotted history that was both witty and informative. You have a collection of regular features, such as the gig dates section and album reviews that you can rely on and feel famliar with, as well as the knowledge that the news
parts will keep you up to date with the scene and the articles with give you something to fill your train journey. This, you may say, simply sounds like the format of any succesful magazine, but in the chaotic world of music where such variety of taste and constantly changing news resides, having a publication you can rely on to give everything some order is a much valued asset. In fear of sounding too much like a promotion blurb you could find on the pages of the magazines supscribtion section it's self, I shall refrain from listing off all the great things lying within the pages, ie how wonderful the competitions are and how many top artists are featured, but I will say that the one place where Kerrang! really triumphs, is in it's perfectly balanced content, with which nothing seems to be in done in half measures. The style of writing that is both filled with the expected air of authority, yet conversational enough not to sound in any way patronising or smug, also sounds as if it is coming from someone who actually lives for that music it's self like you do - exactly the way it should be. Another point to make is the commendable way that Kerrang! opts for a cheap-paper-but-low-price (1.65) style of publishing, which saves you money as well as mantaining the under-ground feel that you are reading for the words and not the image (who cares that the pages tear like toilet roll and it looks crummy - it's content over image and that reflects the music it covers).
Of course, as always, nothing is quite perfect, only close. The only thing about Kerrang! that I dislike (or the only thing worth mentioning) is the 'culture' section. If I wanted to read reviews of computer games, movies and books (speacilly ones that are non-music related), I would have bought copys of CV&G, Film and The Book Review. A response to that could be 'but you don't have to! it's all right here! the complete package!', but unfortunatly the two
single pages Kerrang! donates to 'culture' hardly consititue for the same thing. I just feel this attempt to appeal to a wider audience is a little cheap, and forgivable only if the games, movies and books reviews were anything other then half-bothered and more a novelty then a serious section of the magazine. Am I being too narrow-minded? I don't know, I just think an extra two pages of the rock features that lie ethier side of 'culture' would be preferable.
But I can't really complain. Kerrang! is a cheap magazine, that offers as good a guide as you could hope for to the world of rock music, with everything from top features, big names and quailty of writing working in it's corner. Of course, you have to be a fan of the music it covers, and if you are then Kerrang! really is (cliche-alert) the rock bible. I recomend this magazine (and believe me I've tried the lot) to any self-respecting grunge/punk/heavy metal/nu metal/rock fan out there, speacilly those who apprecihate the perfect balance of all that makes magazines great.
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