Kerrang!

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Kerrang!
Editor	Paul Brannigan
Categories	Music
Frequency	Weekly
Publisher	Emap
First issue	1981-06-06
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Website	www.kerrang.com

Kerrang! is a weekly rock magazine published by EMAP in the United Kingdom.

The magazine's title is onomatopoeic and derives from the noise made when smashing an electric guitar.

Kerrang! was first published on the 6 June 1981, edited by Geoff Barton, initially as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper devoted to the current 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 on emo and metalcore music, particularly stemming from the fact that the magazine continuously printed issues with My Chemical Romance on the front cover for several weeks, following the release of their album, The Black Parade.

1 The current format
2 International Editions
3 Other Media
4 Staff
5 References
6 See also
7 External links

Kerrang!'s most successful period came under editor Paul Rees at the turn of the millennium, at which time, the nu-metal genre, featuring bands such as Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park, were becoming more popular. 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 decline of nu-metal in 2003 meant Kerrang!’s sales went quickly into decline^[2] which eventually prompted his sacking.^{[citation needed]}

When Paul Brannigan took over as editor in April 2005, the focus of Kerrang! was restructured to be more musically diverse, whilst also respecting the magazine's past. In the following months, Kerrang! covered more stylistically varied acts, such as My Chemical Romance, HIM, 30 Seconds to Mars, Avenged Sevenfold, Senses Fail, Mastodon and Bullet for My Valentine. Simultaneously, the magazine covered older bands, such as Metallica, Slayer, Iron Maiden (who have starred on the cover more times than any other band), Nirvana, System of a Down and Green Day. More recently, the magazine has facilitated the rising popularity of British bands, such as Bring Me The Horizon, Enter Shikari, Lostprophets and perhaps most notably Gallows. Although skeptical at first. Kerrang! have supported Post-Hardcore UK band Fightstar, by doing many interviews, live show ratings and recently rated their New Album very high. Fightstar have also featured on many Kerrang! Podcasts, and video Podcasts.

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]

Kerrang! also includes a satirical comic strip called Pandora (originally Pandora Peroxide ^[5]), named for its main character, who is seen every week making fun of recent events in the rock world. The strip is written and drawn by Ray Zell. Other characters include Wek and Web. Wek, the "work experience kid" is a love interest who leaves Pandora and opens a tearoom. He is featured occasionally in strips. Web replaced Wek, and is a "work experience brat". Web has an obsession with Ville Valo of the band HIM. She even has a locket with one of Ville's discarded cigarette butts in it. Other minor characters included in the series are: Auntie P, Orgasm Girl, Billy and Bludwyn.

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 reduced to a monthly issue and costs $6.95. It was not closed^{[citation needed]}

Main article: Kerrang! 105.2

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.

The radio output includes interviews with those affecting popular culture and society as well as those involved with music, e.g. the Cyborg scientist Kevin Warwick.

In 2006 Kerrang! stated on their website that they are trying to bring a radio station to South Wales.^{[citation needed]}

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.

In 2001 Kerrang launched its own online forum with the "rants and raves" section taking up most of the traffic. Though initially extremely popular, the number of users began to peter out around 2005 with the number of people online dropping to as low as 10 when previously it had been closer to the 100 figure. Surprisingly, despite being initially an online forum created in order for readers to be able to provide feedback and discuss the contents of the magazine (with quotes from the messageboard being posted in that week's issue), most users have admitted to not reading it regularly or in some cases, ever.