A Band Called Death

A Band Called Death (2013) is a documentary you can watch online on iFILM about the punk band that came before punk had a name. In early-'70s Detroit, three teenage brothers named Hackney started a group called Death long before the Ramones or the Sex Pistols.

Black kids playing furious guitar rock found no takers. Labels wanted the name gone, radio ignored them, and the band quietly broke up. A 1974 demo went into Bobby's attic and stayed there. Almost thirty years later that dusty reel surfaced, and Death was suddenly hailed as the first black punk band on record.

Directed by Mark Christopher Covino and Jeff Howlett, the film builds its story from family interviews and voices like Henry Rollins, Elijah Wood and Questlove. What lingers isn't the music so much as founder David's stubborn faith that someone, someday, would come looking for those tapes. Stream A Band Called Death (2013) online on iFILM.