Album Cover Analysis

I have decided to analyse and compare The Killers(Sawdust album) and Muse(Absolution). These two bands are usually compared to when it comes to their music. They’re genre of their album is rock which is the genre I’ve chosen to use to create my magazine. The target audience for both albums is an older audience with an exception of young adults.

The Killers album art is different then any other album they have done, they use a cut off arm which lying on a branch in the forest which is the setting of the album cover. The cut off is represented as a branch as well as a human arm, this allows the audience to be engaged because they are confused about the arm which looks like its part of the forest. Also the arm allows itself to blend with the trees and the branches, making it hard for the audience to tell if its a cut off arm or if its just a plain branch.

However Muse’s album cover is also surreal and different from their other album covers, this shows the audience that both rock bands are aiming to be unique and different. The album cover has religious themes in it because of the shadows around the main leader of the band which could represent ‘angels’ because of their body language, their arms are away from their bodies. The shadows appear to be ‘floating’. Also the album cover’s title is ‘Absolution’ which is a term related to Roman Catholic Churches, the defined meaning of ‘Absolution’ is ‘a remission of sin or of the punishment for sin, made by a priest in the sacrament of penance on the ground of authority received from Christ’. The main leader of the band is fixating at the sky, this symbolizes with the title ‘Absolution’, the high angle shot of the man connotes he might want remission from his sins and asking for forgiveness from God.

The font used in the other album cover(The Killers) is similar to the album name(Sawdust) and it also contrasts with the setting. The setting represents the season which was autumn with the leaves on the ground. However the font used juxtaposes with the setting, it looks more futuristic which again shows the audience that The Killers are unique adding two themes to the album cover.

On the other hand, the colour of the font Muse uses is white which symbolizes purity and innocence and this reflects again on the theme they have chosen which is religion.Also the band constantly use the same style of fonts for other albums they have produced e.g ‘The Resistance’. However this isn’t what catches the audience gaze, its the man who’s costume is mostly leather: wearing a leather jacket and leather trousers, he’s also holding a prop which could be a camera. He might have a camera because he wants to take a image of the strange people ‘floating’ or the thing he’s staring at above. In addition, the man’s facial expression’s look as if he’s scared and anxious about the thing above him. This makes the audience feel pity and sympathy for the man.

However, the use of tree’s, soft colours such as green,wood texture and the setting suggests the track list of their album would be peaceful and would consist of slow songs which contrasts with the album name and their band name. Sawdust is a dangerous object and this juxtaposes with the soft setting which then allows the audience to know that their will be lots of meaningful songs in the album and will be different then any other album they have done.