Should you watch A Band Called Death?
Who it’s good for, who it isn’t, and what’s in it. No ratings, no scores.

A Band Called Death
Documentary · 2013
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.
The sides of A Band Called Death
- Three brothers playing punk in 1970s Detroit
- A band name nobody would book
- A forgotten demo tape found decades later
A Band Called Death is good for you if…
- you like raw punk played before punk had a name.
- you like three brothers held together by music.
- you love true stories of music rediscovered.
A Band Called Death is bad for you if…
- you roll your eyes at emotional family reunions.
- you need more happening than interviews and old photos.
About: brotherhood · recognition · faith
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