House style is where a magazine uses similar layout and structure, including the masthead font, colours, logo and its placement, as well as placement of images and the bar code. House style is used so that the reader can judge whether or not it is the type of magazine that they want because they are familiar with the layout and font types. Metal Hammer has a clear house style, so that readers are easily able to know they have the right magazine, and may not even have to read the title. The masthead is spread across the skyline of the cover. The word metal has a spray paint effect to it, and is always across the first part of the letter "H" in "Hammer". The colour of the masthead varies depending on the house style of the issue, adding to the high quality and formality of the magazine. The photo always spreads across the cover, and is on top of the masthead. This adds to the importance of the picture, making sure not to take away from the focus from the main photo. The cover line is normally in the centre of the cover, and spans across the whole of the page. There are vary rarely other cover lines or additional photos. 

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In this issue of "Metal Hammer", the main colours are red, white and black. This is prominent throughout the cover, contents and double page spreads that have been analysed. This adds to the mysterious feel of the magazine, as the pictures appear dark to reflect the feel the band give off.