If you have yet to hear about Death, you have been missing out. This NY Times article will get you up to speed, don’t worry, I’ll wait ’til you get back.
Okay, intrigued now? At least now you know that Death was a band from Detroit essentially making punk rock before a thing called “punk” existed. In 2009 Drag City released some of their recordings on an album entitled “…For the Whole World to See” and recently the label has put out a record of some reel-to-reel demo recordings the band made between 1974-1976 called “Spiritual Mental Physical.” This collection of tracks adds a bit to the sound we heard on “…For the Whole World” and makes me wonder if there are any other unheard gems from Death.
Well, just today I stumbled upon this website that features a trailer for a documentary about the band which looks pretty cool, hopefully it will tell us more about just how in the world this sound was coming out of 1974 Detroit and why is was hidden for so long. I am not seeing a release date anywhere, however, so that is a bit disconcerting.
I think one of the coolest parts of the trailer is seeing the original members (minus David Hackney who passed away from lung cancer in 2000) still kicking ass on stage. Here is a little taste of the band from 2010. I wish they would tour ’round this way again.
If you know anything about a release date for this documentary, leave a comment!
