Kerrang!

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Kerrang!
Editor	Paul Brannigan
Categories	Music
Frequency	Weekly
First Issue	June 6, 1981
Company	Emap
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Website	kerrang.com
ISSN	unknown

Kerrang! is a weekly music magazine (mainly rock and metal) published by EMAP in the United Kingdom.

Contents 1 Origins 2 International Editions 3 Spin-offs 3.1 Kerrang! Radio 3.2 Kerrang! TV 4 See also 5 External links

[edit] Origins

Kerrang! is a British music magazine. The magazine’s title is onomatopoeic and derives from the noise putatively made by playing a power chord on an electric guitar.

Edited by Geoff Barton, Kerrang! began life in June 1981 initially as a one off supplement in the Sounds newspaper devoted to the burgeoning New Wave of British Heavy Metal (or NWOBHM for short) and the rise of other hard rock acts such as AC/DC, who appeared on Kerrang!’s first cover.

During the 1980s and early 1990s the magazine placed many thrash and glam metal acts on the cover (like Mötley Crüe, Slayer, Metallica, Poison, Testament) but later discarded them when grunge acts such as Nirvana rose to fame. Readers often criticise the magazine for repeating this process every time a new musical trend becomes popular; for example, there are many complaints about Kerrang!'s current emphasis of emo music.

Kerrang!’s most successful period came under editor Paul Rees at the turn of the millennium, which saw the advent of nu-metal featuring bands such as Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park. In 2002, the magazine overtook rival New Musical Express to become the biggest weekly music magazine in the UK. [1] Rees went on to edit Q and Ashley Bird took over as editor from 2003 to 2005. Unfortunately for Bird, the nu-metal bubble burst in 2003 and Kerrang!’s sales went quickly into decline which eventually prompted his sacking. [2]

When Paul Brannigan took over as editor in April 2005, the focus of Kerrang! was restructured to be both more musically diverse and to also draw from the magazine's own rich history. The following months saw such stylistically varied new acts as My Chemical Romance, HIM, Trivium, Mastodon, Rammstein and Bullet for My Valentine sitting alongside old favorites like Metallica, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Nirvana, System of a Down and Green Day, and most recently, leading the rise to fame of British bands in the likes of metal thrash band Hung Yesterday, Sheffield metalcore band Bring Me The Horizon, post-hardcore experimentalists Enter Shikari and instrumental math-rockers 65daysofstatic.

According to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations figures published on 17 August 2006, Kerrang! has again overtaken New Musical Express to become the biggest weekly music magazine in the UK. [3] As of 15 February 2007 Kerrang! sells over 12,000 more copies per week than its rival. [4]

[edit] International Editions

Emap launched Kerrang! Australia in the late 1990s. Unlike its weekly counterpart in the UK, the Australian edition was published monthly. Due to stiff competition from free local music publications, Kerrang! Australia was closed in 2004.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Spin-offs

[edit] Kerrang! Radio

In 2000 Emap launched Kerrang! as a digital radio station, across the UK. On June 10 2004, Kerrang! 105.2 was launched as a regional radio station in the West Midlands with an advertising campaign by London-based creative agency ODD. During the day the Kerrang! Radio network broadcasts more accessible acts such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Oasis and Kaiser Chiefs. In the evening and at weekends they have a number of specialist programmes dedicated to the many subgenres of rock music.

In 2006 Kerrang! stated on their website that they are trying to bring a radio station to South Wales. On the site there is a petition where users can enter their details.

[edit] Kerrang! TV

In 2001 Emap launched Kerrang! TV. As with the radio station, the TV channel covers the more mainstream side of the rock music as well as classic rock bands like Aerosmith, Guns N' Roses and Whitesnake.

[edit] See also

• Paul Brannigan (editor)
• Simon Young (news editor)
• Steve Beebee (journalist)
• Malcolm Dome (journalist)
• Daniel Lane (deputy editor)
• Scarlet Page (photographer)
• Ian Winwood (journalist)
• NME
• Melody Maker
• Q magazine

[edit] External links

• Official Site
• KerrangRadio
• Profile on MySpace