Death (Protopunk Band)

Death was a Detroit band formed in 1971 by brothers David and Dannis Hackney. They played a raw, stripped-down style that later got called protopunk, though at the time they were just making music in Detroit's underground clubs. The group was a mixed-race lineup, which wasn't common then, and they faced some industry indifference.

Their song 'Politicians In My Eyes' came out in 1977 and became their best-known track. It's a fast, angry tune that caught on with people looking for something rougher than what was on mainstream radio. Other songs like 'Keep On Knocking' and 'Rock-N-Roll Victim' have that same urgent, garage-rock energy.

Death only put out a few singles during their active years, but decades later their recordings were compiled on albums like 'For the Whole World to See.' Their sound drew from rhythm and blues and garage rock, and it resonated with later punk bands even though Death themselves never got much commercial attention at the time.