In terms of underground music, has there ever been a more overlooked, yet hugely influential band than Deadguy? Hailing from New Jersey in the early to late Nineties, their Unsane meets Today Is The Day brand of hardcore was the epitome of a square peg in a round hole.

Choosing to steer clear of the hardcore blueprint of the time and not join the endless bands peddling the controlled aggression and formulaic “chugga, chugga beatdown” style, Deadguy’s anger and energy was visceral. However, by the time the mid nineties arrived they were every hardcore kids dirty little secret and found themselves part of the now legendary Victory Records roster.

But mismatched shows and tours up and down the country took its toll on the band leading to various rifts within the band and it’s all been captured in this fantastic documentary Killing Music. Finally, the world can see what drove Deadguy, what broke them and indeed what brought them back together as it tells the entire Deadguy story in two wonderful hours, culminating in a 2021 live show with the Fixation on a Co-worker line-up.

Rare and archive footage shows just how downright nasty they were as a live force and there’s interviews with all band members as it documents the band coming together for the first time in 25 years, as well as commentary from the likes of Steve Austin (Today Is The Day) Jesse Leach (Killswitch Engage) Daryl Taberski (Snapcase) Randy Blythe (Lamb Of God) all of which consider the band a massive influence.

Killing Music also offers a peak into the band relationships, which were not always good, but ultimately time has healed a lot of the rifts and they are able to enjoy their legacy as brothers, which is lovely to see. Music documentaries rarely chronicle a band as well as Killing Music has. This is the definitive story of a very misunderstood and criminally overlooked band and is an absolute must watch for anybody who considers themselves a fan of hardcore music… Chris Andrews