A Band Called Death

Write this one up as fiction and no one would buy it. Three black brothers in Detroit back in the early seventies. Their parents come into a chunk of money and buy their music-loving kids the classic bass/guitar/drums rock configuration. David, the band's guitarist and de facto leader, decides that if he can play chords like Pete Townsend and solo like Jimi Hendrix, he'll be capable of making an all-powerful sound. And as with so much of what David proclaimed, he was right.

This movie feels like a pure rock and roll myth, and like all myths, it has its tragic act. The band called Death independently records an amazing album, but they never get the major push they were hoping for. Their extreme (at the time) name is a constant stumbling block. After a long string of rejections, Death hears word that Clive Davis might sign them - but only if they're willing to change their name. Brothers Bobby and Dannis are willing to make the change in a heartbeat, but David - an uncompromising visionary on every level - dismisses the idea without even a moment's consideration, seemingly dooming the band to permanent obscurity.

Eventually the other Hackney brothers move on without David, evolving their sound into a reggae act. In 2000, David ominously delivers their earlier recordings to his brother, telling him to keep them safe because "the world's going to come looking for the Death master tapes someday." He wasn't wrong on that one, either, or this movie wouldn't exist.

As a documentary, "A Band Called Death" is extremely well made. The Hackney brothers provide lively interviews, as do other family members and people connected with the band. Black and white photos from their well-documented studio sessions fill in the visual pieces that home video would handle in a more modern story. The film is paced well, and even though by its very existence you'll realize that the band and its music were ultimately vindicated, there are many nice surprises along the way.  If you're into music (especially hard rock, punk, hardcore, or thrash) and immersive documentaries like "The King of Kong" and "Capturing the Friedmans", you'll need to check this one out as soon as you have the chance.

"What good will it do to gain the world and lose your soul?" (Mark 8:36)

At some point in our lives, most of us surrender our dreams to responsibilities of life. Family, mortgages, and the careers to sustain them. All these things of life. Some necessary. Some necessary evils. And all those unfulfilled dreams follow us to our graves. Let's face it, for most of us, it takes balls to follow your dreams, because it takes balls to fail big.

"Death", and its lead-man David Hackney, had the balls to follow their dreams. Bound by faith, family, and an unshakable confidence, they followed their dream despite the odds stacked against them. They weren't afraid to fail big. They knew that their music and their vision for the band had risks.

Listening to their music, it's evident that they were way ahead of their time, and yes, unfortunately, not what the mainstream audience expected. But still, they persisted past the rejections, disappointments and heartaches, buoyed by family loyalty and love of music.

The bright light shining through the disappointment and heartache, is the love of family. The the real core and power of this movie, is how your family's love and faith doesn't fail, even when everything else has.

Here's to the dreamers. Your dreams will be realized long after your departure. Your dreams will be your legacy and your loved ones the beneficiaries.

Rock on, all you misfits.

In recent years there seems to have been a cycle of music documentaries about musicians of whom success has eluded. In Anvil: the Story of Anvil we have a band who have had extremely limited success over a very long period, in Searching for Sugarman we have an artist who had extremely minor success and then disappeared only to be rediscovered a quarter of a century later to great acclaim and in 20 Feet from Stardom we have the story of singers whose work we hear everywhere but of whom remain unfairly obscure. A Band Called Death contains elements of all of these documentaries, except in this one the band didn't even release an album until 35 years after their initial demo.

Death were a Detroit proto-punk band. Not only that but they were an all-black proto-punk band, which makes them very unique. There were very few black musicians operating in this area of music back in the 70's. Its details like this that makes their story all the more unusual. Having heard their music, I have to say it was pretty good. Forget proto-punk, this stuff sounded more like post-punk. Its combination of aggression with tight highly skilled musicianship was certainly ahead of its time and sounds more like the more expansive alternative rock that followed in the wake of the punk years. I suppose, looking back on it, being so ahead of their time was one of the problems the band had in getting a record deal. Likewise, their name was a major handicap. Band leader David Hackney conceived of the name and insisted on it being retained at all costs. This of course led to the group losing the one record contract they were offered. It is testament to David's principles but it does seem like a self-defeating stance, as it's the music that counts most, the name is so much less important and we are left wondering what could have been. Of course, a name like 'Death' and music such as theirs is entirely in-step with today's contemporary alternative rock, which is why they were rediscovered to such fanfare. It's great to see them finally have their time in the sun.

The two surviving brothers are genuinely good blokes and we learn most of the story of the band from them. Their brother David died some time round about the year 2000 of lung cancer, so there is a bittersweet nature to the band's late acceptance and success. David was the main visionary of the band. He was a dreamer. It is sad that he never saw the band achieve its long-overdue success but until his dying day he always was convinced that one day people would come looking for their music. And he was proved correct. The film perhaps falls a bit short in detailing the Detroit rock scene of the time. It almost paints a picture where Death were the lone purveyors of this kind of confrontational rock music. This makes them seem more unique but it would have been good if the documentary at least acknowledged fellow Detroit pioneers such as The Stooges and The MC5. It would have put the band and Detroit itself into a bit more historical context. Also, it would have been interesting to know if they had a local following at the time and played any gigs. But, despite these minor issues, the film is still very successful because these guys were genuinely good and it's not a rose tinted spectacle affair. The film also functions as a mechanism for their music to reach an even wider audience and this in itself is a good enough reason for its existence. But the main thing is that now Death have been added to the rock family tree as an important precursor to punk and alternative rock. Even if, in the final analysis, none of that changes the fact that 'Death' is still a terrible name for a band

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.

A bittersweet tale involving the intensity of rock and roll of the wildest, most bracing sort, the vindication of art and the uncompromised vision of a dreamer, an artist like so many, who had to die before the world caught on to his genius.

A heartwarming tale of the strong bonds of family and the unknown surprises lurking in almost all of our pasts.

A film where the heroic role of the rescuers and redeemers is taken up by record collector nerds and glasses-wearing hipsters (YAY!)

A story that, like all the greatest documentaries, is true, but feels so much like a feel-good Hollywood fairy tale that you can't believe it all really happened. But it did.

This is really corny, but hey, when a film is this good, why not indulge in the oldest possible style of film hype: You'll Laugh! You'll Cry! You'll Cheer! Go See A Band Called Death! The Most Feelgood film of the year with the word death in the title!

If you like this, check out "Anvil! The Story of Anvil." Just as tearjerking and entertaining.