A Band Called Death

2013

DocumentaryMusic

Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was Death. Formed in the early '70s by three teenage brothers from Detroit, Death is credited as being the first black punk band, and the Hackney brothers, David, Bobby, and Dannis, are now considered pioneers in their field. But it wasn’t until recently — when a dusty 1974 demo tape made its way out of Bobby’s attic nearly 30 years after Death’s heyday — that anyone outside a small group of punk enthusiasts had even heard of them.

"This Band was Punk, before Punk was Punk"

Rating

7.2
83 votes

Popularity

0.6288

Origin & Countries

US | en | United States of America

Production

Picture Machine,Haven Entertainment

Runtime

96 min.

Status

Released

Release: 6/27/2013

Credits

A Band Called Death

Jeff HowlettDirector

A Band Called Death

Dannis HackneySelf

A Band Called Death

Bobby HackneySelf

A Band Called Death

David HackneySelf (archive footage)

A Band Called Death

Henry RollinsSelf

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Reviews

kineticandroid

6/21/2014

/ 10

There's an undercurrent of disappointment throughout the story of a band called Death. Misunderstood and marginalized in their time, they endured a lot of rejection and settled into lives that turned out differently than for what they had hoped. Then, after their music is rediscovered and shared, they reunite, but with a heavy heart knowing their visionary leader did not live to see the rebirth. And yet, through that malaise, the band's story is one of joy, familial devotion, and believing in something so strongly, it can't help but come true. It shows that powerful art can create double lives. It shows the unknown pleasures of digging into the past for the untold stories. And the songs? Dang man, these songs slay.

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