Textual analysis Album covers - Kings of Leon

The band kings of leon fall under the rock genre but it could also be argued that they are in the alternative genre as they do not conform completely to the rock sounds and stereotypes. This rock/alternative style is reflected in their clothing and hair styles as well as their music.
The immediate thought when looking at this album cover is that it is a clever use of photography edited together to resemble a whole image. Fans of the band will notice that the photographs used in the cover are pictures of the band members, otherwise it is not obvious that it is the band as it is not a stereotypical band photograph. The fact that the images are of the band members themselves shows to the listeners that they are involved in every aspect of their albums and not just the music.

The cover has a colour wash over the image which is similar to grey scale but with hints of green. This is a colour wash that is rarely used for album covers which makes it stand out and is useful in marketing. The other colour in the image is the green title of the album and the name of the band. Normally these are written in a large font and stand out on the page as they are important information and often the only information included on the cover. The band may have chosen to do this so the writing does not detract away from the image, therefore making the image more powerful. The writing is also written in a font that suits the photographic style of the image and is similar to the writing found on photographs to display the date and time.

The image itself looks abstract which reflects the bands genre and style. The picture is a collection of different photographs edited together to create a full image which has also been edited to have features of a bird of pray. This idea of different components coming together could symbolise the individual members of the band coming together and creating one unit. Perhaps this also represents the creating of their music as they have inputs from every band member and one final outcome that is strong and powerful like a bird of pray. The bird of pray often symbolises power and strength but could also be interpreted as being intimidating and overpowering. This symbol could be a reflection of bands music and the rock genre and makes the band look powerful and influential.

On the other hand, the image of different photographs put together could also symbolise the shattering and the cracks formed in a unit showing its vulnerability and weaknesses. This is demonstrated in another ‘Kings Of Leon’ album cover called ‘Because Of The Times’ this depicts the image of a light bulb shattering. (left image)

The face in the image on the album cover is looking straight at the camera and is a close shot which suggests power and dominance, this is reinforced by the expressionless face which looks intimidating and sincere. This could be to represent the dominance amongst the music industry or it could also be a persona that the band has created and refers to throughout their music.

The edge of the image is faded to black which gives the cover a dated look and makes the image look more authentic. It also has cross marks on each side which shows the alignment of the four images and also highlights the symmetry of the image. Symmetry is often used in album covers as opposed to music videos where they use the rule of thirds, central placing of the image makes the cover stand out and grasp the attention of the listener.
Overall, this album cover contains powerful imagery which grasps the audiences attention and intrigues them as the picture is unusual and is almost a trick on the eye.