A Band Called Death

What's in a name? This documentary explores just that question with a long unknown band that has been given praise the world over with quotes such as "They were punk before Punk was punk."

'A Band Called Death', not surprisingly, tells the journey of a band...called Death. Today a name like that would not even raise an eyebrow if a 10 year old was listening to it. But in 1974, when three African-American brothers playing a style of rock no one had heard came along, no one was prepared for it. This documentary follows this band and unfolds for us the story of their inspiration, their failures, rejections, and success over 35 years in the making. All of this spearheaded by one of the Hackney brothers, a visionary lost before his time had found him.

This movie was in a word, wonderful. I have watched plenty of docs before and behind the music, things like that, but this is one of the only ones that really touches you and really invests you in the real life story of these three brothers. This doc was very well edited and tells a very powerful story, and a part of me really wants to see this nominated for Best Feature Doc for an Oscar.

The pictures and music is wonderful, and you can really tell that the music industry has a passion for these guys with heavy hitters like Questlove, Alice Cooper, Mickey Leigh, Henry Rollins, Kid Rock, and Elijah Wood (who apparently owns a record label.) dotting the interviews raving about this band.

Final Judgement:

This bands journey through their various trials and tribulations is nothing short of inspiring and moving. I feel that anyone should be able to watch this movie and get something enjoyable out of it. The story, the people, the musi...everything just really comes together in a big way to make a great watch. This indie movie is only in select theaters across the country right now, but you can rent it on Amazon.com and pick up a hard copy there too, and I really recommend watching it at least once.  

Score: ★★★★★★★★★★☆