If you’ve never experienced Death, now’s the perfect time to fix that.
The acclaimed documentary A Band Called Death is streaming on the Criterion Channel starting today, telling the remarkable story of the Detroit brothers—David, Bobby, and Dannis Hackney—who formed the proto-punk band Death back in 1971, years before punk became a movement.
For decades, the band’s legacy was little more than a cult curiosity, with just one rare 7-inch single to their name. That changed in 2009 when their long-lost debut album, …For the Whole World to See, finally saw the light of day, sparking a well-deserved rediscovery. More archival releases followed, along with new music, but it was the 2012 documentary by Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino that truly introduced Death’s incredible story to a wider audience.
Premiering at the Los Angeles Film Festival, the film became a festival favorite and helped launch the band onto stages around the globe. Whether you’re a lifelong fan or discovering them for the first time, A Band Called Death is an essential watch—and a thrilling reminder that some legends just take a little longer to be heard.
