Feature2013·96m·7.2

A Band Called Death

This Band was Punk, before Punk was Punk

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.

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Cast

Dannis Hackney

Self

Bobby Hackney

Self

David Hackney

Self (archive footage)

Henry Rollins

Self

Elijah Wood

Self

Kid Rock

Self

Alice Cooper

Self

Mick Collins

Self

Mickey Leigh

Self

Robbie Duncan

Self

Questlove

Self

Vernon Reid

Self

Wayne Kramer

Self

Details

Status: Released
Original language: English
Languages: English
Budget: —
Revenue: $125
Age rating: —
Quality: 4K UHD · HDR10 · Dolby Vision
Production: Picture MachineHaven Entertainment

Crew

Director

Mark Christopher Covino

Rich Fox

Editor

Gallery

Reviews

kineticandroid

6/21/2014

7.0

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.