If you’re a fan of Breaking Benjamin, Sevendust and Shinedown, today’s your lucky day! Meet Raftree, the rock band from New Jersey that’s making waves with their tight musicianship and strong vocals. JamSpreader had the opportunity to ask a couple of questions to Raftree frontman Kenneth about their sounds, inspirations, and more…

How did you get your start?

Like most guitar players, I was fascinated with 70s & 80s rock. Doing covers of Van Halen, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, The Who & Pink Floyd.

Describe your sound in three words.

Aggressive, dynamic, and organic.

What kind of message are you trying to send with your music?

I don’t really have any life changing messages. I write more about relationships. Sometimes drama within musician community. Female drama. My own anxiety [laughs].

Can you tell us a bit about your songwriting process?

I kind of take a page from Black Sabbath’s book. Not that I write scary music…well, sometimes I do [laughs], but that I write a riff or melody that is exciting in one way or another. Sometimes exciting moody, or exciting aggravating, angry or pumped up. It’s kind of weird, but the music will dictate where it wants to go, and I’ll try to think of a relevant topic that reflects that feeling or emotion.

What’s your guilty pleasure song?

And We Danced by Hooters (don’t know, was first thing I could think of)

If you could tour with anyone – dead or alive – who would it be and why?

INXS with Micheal Hutchens. Or Queen with Freddie Mercury. Toss up. Just because. How great would that be? [laughs].

What’s next for you?

Finish my 4 song EP. Shoot a quality video and promote the hell out of it.

The post Interview: Raftree appeared first on JamSpreader.

Snowed in? So are we! So in addition to doing the only things that SHOULD be done on snow days (sweatpants, netflix, and spiked hot cocoa all day long,) we here at JamSpreader invite you to join us in listening to the only playlist that matters today: our top ten songs for the snowed in! So grab your snuggies (whatever, you KNOW you have one,) and your booze, and let’s get started!

1. “While I Shovel The Snow” – The Walkmen
2. “Velvet Snow” – Kings Of Leon
3. “Fifteen Feet Of Pure White Snow” – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
4. “Snowblind” – Black Sabbath
5. “20 Years Of Snow” – Regina Spektor
6. “Spider In The Snow” – The Dismemberment Plan
7. “Snow In San Anselmo” – Van Morrison
8. “Snow Queen” – She & Him
9. “Men Of Snow” – Ingrid Michaelson
10. …and the entire “Snowed In” album by Hanson. Because we said so.

The post Top 10: Songs For The Snowed In appeared first on JamSpreader.

It’s that time of year again…HALLOWEEN! Before you go out this weekend to get drunk in a mask celebrate, take a listen to JamSpreader’s own top rock and metal songs for the spookiest day of the year:

1.  Marilyn Manson – “This Is Halloween”

2.  The Pretty Reckless – “Going To Hell”

3.  Rob Zombie – “Dragula”

4. Metallica – “Enter Sandman”

5.  Black Sabbath – “God Is Dead?”

6.  Slayer – “Raining Blood”

7.  Avenged Sevenfold – “Bat Country”

8.  Lita Ford – “Wicked Wonderland”

9.  Megadeth – “Symphony Of Destruction”

10.  AC/DC – “Highway To Hell”

The post A Very Metal Halloween Playlist appeared first on JamSpreader.

Grab a bottle of Jack and some cocaine, because Motorhead is back with a brand-spankin’-new album, “Aftershock!” The record is Motorhead’s 21st studio album (yes, really,) and they have not lost any of the rock ‘n’ roll spirit over the years.  Filled with growled-out lyrics, face-melting riffs, and thunderous drums, “Aftershock” is reminiscent of old Lemmy and the gang, and proves that metal is alive and well. Songs like the first track, “Heartbreaker,” start off with a Black-Sabbath-esque intro before diving into the hard sound that the band is known and loved for. Lemmy, now 67(!) shows his softer side in the track, “Lost Woman Blues,” which sounds like a gloriously crunchy mixture of Jimi Hendrix and ZZ Top, and is sure to become an instant-classic. Motorhead perfectly embodies the likes of Metallica and Slayer in the final track, “Paralyzed,” with finger-destroying guitar solos and deliciously ferocious lyrics that are promised to make even the quietest little mouse want to get drunk and cause destruction. As a whole, “Aftershock” is some of Motorhead’s best work yet, and is an absolute staple for any metal fan. Crank the speakers and rock out!

See? Even Lemmy says so.

The post Motorhead – Aftershock appeared first on JamSpreader.

You guys…YOU GUYS.

Black Sabbath has just announced that you can stream their full album, “13,” on iTunes.

Literally me right now.

“13,” produced by Rick Rubin, is Sabbath’s first album with Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne since 1978, and features original guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler.  The album, whose first single was the epic jam-fest “God Is Dead,” blew Osbourne doubters away and left every rock lover begging for more, will be making the rounds this summer on a North American tour, whose dates you can find below.  In the meantime, make sure to take a listen to Black Sabbath’s comeback record, “13,” here!

Thu- Jul 25 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Sat-Jul 27 Austin, TX Frank Erwin Center
Mon-Jul 29 Tampa, FL Live Nation Amphitheatre
Wed-Jul 31 W. Palm Beach, FL Cruzan Amphitheatre
Fri-Aug 02 Bristow, VA Jiffy Lube Live
Sun-Aug 04 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
Tue-Aug 06 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
Thu-Aug 08 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
Sat-Aug 10 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
^Mon-Aug 12 Boston, MA Comcast Center
Wed-Aug 14 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
Fri Aug 16 Tinley Park, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
Sun-Aug 18 Indianapolis, IN Klipsch MusicCenter
Thu-Aug 22 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
Sat-Aug 24 Seattle, WA Gorge Amphitheatre
Mon-Aug 26 San Francisco, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View
Wed-Aug 28 Irvine, CA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Fri-Aug 30 Phoenix, AZ US Airways Center
Sun-Sep 01 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena
Tue-Sep 03 Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles Sports Arena

The post Stream Black Sabbath’s “13” Album! appeared first on JamSpreader.

I am absolutely devastated to report that legendary Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman has passed away at age 49 of liver failure following at 2011 spider bite that lead to necrotizing fasciitis.  The band released a heartbroken statement yesterday, saying:

“Slayer is devastated to inform that their bandmate and brother, Jeff Hanneman, passed away at about 11AM this morning near his Southern California home. Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure.  He is survived by his wife Kathy, his sister Kathy and his brothers Michael and Larry, and will be sorely missed.”

Some of rocks biggest names took to twitter to express their sadness:

My deepest condolences go out to Hanneman’s friends, family, and the metal community as a whole.  RIP, Jeff Hanneman, Heaven just gained a great.

The post Slayer Guitarist Jeff Hanneman Dead At 49 appeared first on JamSpreader.

Yes, you read that correctly.  The kings of darkness are actually go well with a little sunshine, as gardening expert Chris Beardshaw, from BBC Radio 4’s Gardener’s Question Time, has recently discovered.  Beardshaw explained:

“We set up four glasshouses with different sorts of music in to see what happened to the plants.  We had one that was silent – that was a control house – and we had one that was played classical music, we had one that was played Cliff Richard and we had one that was played Black Sabbath. It was alstroemerias we were growing and we bombarded these glasshouses with sound for the life of the plant.The one that was grown with classical music — a soft, almost a caressing of the plant when it is hit with that sort of soundwave — those grew slightly shorter because of the soundwaves bombarding them and were slightly more floriferous and there was slightly less pest and disease. And the ones with Black Sabbath — great big, thumping noise, rowdy music — they were the shortest, but they had the best flowers and the best resistance to pest and disease…The alstroemerias in the Cliff Richard house all died. Sabotage was suspected but we couldn’t prove it.”

Well, you heard the man: if you need some help perfecting your green thumb, turn up the Sabbath!  And might I suggest their new song “God Is Dead?” I’m thinking some cheery flowers in particular would be huge fans!

The post Black Sabbath Is Good For Plants, Says Gardening Expert appeared first on JamSpreader.

So, imagine something for a second:

It’s 1982, and you hear that there’s a bitchin’ party at your older brother’s friends’ house.  The guy’s 37, lives in his mom’s cramped basement, and has taken in a stray pitbull who constantly pees on the carpet, but he’s a notorious party animal.  His furnishings consist of three tattered bean bag chairs and a flannel couch that he had found along the side of the road.  Descending into his basement is an assault on the senses, with the smell of stale bong water, burnt hair and pee.  After claiming some space on the cigarette pocked couch, the bong is passed and you take your first-ever hit of the thick, skunky-smelling smoke. Suddenly you find yourself mesmerized by the massive black light Black Sabbath poster on the wall.

“Who are they?” you ask, your words but a whisper.

“What? You’ve never heard of Black Sabbath?!” your brother’s friend replies.

You slowly shake your head as you stare at Ozzy, Geezer, and Iommi in awe.  You hear a shuffling from across the room, and the distinct sound of a needle hitting vinyl, before the darkest, most haunting melody reaches your ears. Your mind soars…

Is God real? Is he damned? Is he alive? Is he dead?  You’ve never really given any thought to these questions before, but now you find yourself more than a little curious about them. You find yourself lost in your own thoughts when the track fades, and then notice the 37-year-old burnout looking at you with a half smile, and…pride?  He takes another hit, blows milky smoke into your face, and says:

“THAT, my young friend, is Black Sabbath.”

…

…

…

What you’ve just read is the new Black Sabbath single, “God Is Dead,” in a nutshell.  Simply put, Sabbath is back and better than ever, and I can’t wait to hear what else they have in store for us.  Check out the full hypnotizing ten minute single below. Enjoy, I know I certainly did.

The post New Black Sabbath Single, “God Is Dead” Released! appeared first on JamSpreader.

Black Sabbath has a lot on their plates recently.  Between their new album, “13,” set to be released June 11th, the album’s first single, “God Is Dead?” coming out this Thursday, AND an appearance on “CSI” May 15th, the kings of darkness barely have time to breathe, but have managed to grace us with upcoming United States tour dates!  The album, frontman Ozzy Osbourne says:

“I’m so over the moon about the way the album turned out … It’s better than my wildest dreams; it’s so good”

Produced by the legendary Rick Rubin, “13” is Sabbath’s first album with Ozzy in 35 years, and features original Sabbath members Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, along with Brad Wilk of Rage Against The Machine on drums.  The first leg of US tour dates can be seen below, and tickets go on pre-sale this Thursday.

8/4 — Holmdel, N.J. — PNC Bank Arts Center
8/14 — Toronto, Ontario — Air Canada Centre
8/24 — Seattle, Wash. — Gorge Amphitheatre
9/3 — Los Angeles, Calif. — Los Angeles Sports Arena

The post Black Sabbath Announce US Tour Dates! appeared first on JamSpreader.

Every musician has a “Rock Face.” What exactly is a “Rock Face,” you ask?  It’s the face a musician makes onstage right as they start to wail.  We’re talking complete vein-popping, eardrum-bursting, hair-raising screams that get crowds going and bras flying.  This being said, what better way to start off a dreary Monday than with a gallery of the 20 absolute best Rock Faces in the business?!  Check out the full gallery below, and let me know!  Do you think I missed anyone, or are you in agreement?

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