A BAND CALLED DEATH

A BAND CALLED DEATH Review

By Darin Skaggs

     Every once in a while people run into something they never heard of and end up loving it.  This happens with people who pick up random books; people that go see a random movie and people who listen to a random CD.  Very rarely do those items turn out to be magnificent.  You have to sit and wonder where that book’s inspiration came from or how long did the movie take to write and film?  Or how did these people decide to become musicians?  The documentary A Band Called Death does just that.

     Biological African American brothers David, Bobby and Dannis Hackney in the early 1970’s decided that they would start a band.  In the documentary they say they went against the soulful music in their community and played rock music instead.  With pressure to go soul, they rebelled and went more and more rock and became one of the first bands to play punk.  At one point they record their music, but unfortunately never get signed.  David, the leader of the group, is claimed to come up with everything about the band: name, sound, lyrics, beliefs and themes.  After many struggles and upsets the brothers go their separate ways.  Bobby and Dannis start their own band and most of the brothers start their own family.  Near 2008 or so Death is discovered by some music fanatics and the band gets a following.

     This is a wonderful documentary.  It keeps your interest with these people and makes you care about their story.  Their music is also wonderful and is played throughout the film.  Like a film last year, Searching For Sugar Man it shows that if you put anything out there you can change someone’s life.  That film showed the musician as a mysterious man that changed a whole country.  This one is a little simpler.  It showed three imperfect people, there not bad people just they are not shown as perfect, and trying to make music and do something they want to.

     It is a great tale of family, creativity and art.  Filled with great interviews and information about one little family, it is a great look at music.