Death III- Death

Death is a band with an interesting story. A Detroit group, they were denied record deals left and right due to their name, an attempt to inject some positivity into the word death. Probably wasn't going to happen, but their music was great enough to deserve a record deal, as their now resurfacing demos show. For The Whole World To See was my first glimpse into the world of Death, along with their excellent documentary, A Band Called Death. Though often labeled protopunk, and being in the right time period, and the right name, Death had its harder elements and a frenetic pace to their music, but also knew when to slow things up.

Death III is the third archival release of the band's demos, but delves into the lighter side of Death to a greater degree than For The Whole World To See. Their lighter side is definitely fully realized on their songs 'We Are Only People' and 'We're Gonna Make It', among others. That is not to say that some songs still don't rock. The Hackney Brothers were also very talented musicians, as their demos continue to show.

This album is not without a few low points. The sound does tend to sag a bit, mainly because of the album sequencing. I feel like if the slower songs were broken up with more frequency by the faster ones, it might vary the mood a bit. Also, the song 'Open Road', though an interesting attempt at some odd time signature and rhythm changes, comes off a little awkardly.

All in all, this is a solid document that gives the listener a better portrait of Death. It's hard to be too hard on it, mainly because they were demos after all, and the material here is of much more quality than the uneven Spiritual Mental Physical. It's worth a listen, and is further exploration into a much overlooked group, but For The Whole World To See is still their crowning achievement in my opinion.

Out of a total of five stars, I give this:

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