Tenacious D strikes back

Rating: 9.2/10
Rating: 9.2/10

Following their critically panned 2006 motion picture, Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny, and its accompanying soundtrack, the duo of Jack Black and Kyle Gass have returned to please rock fans with their comedic ballads. The album, Rize of the Fenix, will be released May 15 on Columbia Records.

Addressing their box office bomb (which has become a cult hit), the eponymous title track has Jack Black singing: “When The Pick of Destiny was released it was a bomb/and all the critics said that the D was done/The sun had set and the chapter had closed/but one thing no one thought about was the D would rise again”.

Mixing between skits and songs about fruit, fighting for a Senorita’s honor, solving the environmental crisis by building a Death Star, the mish-mash of acoustic, heavy-metal, and comedy rock will satisfy scores of fans in the multi-genre domain of rock.

Fans of Led Zeppelin, Queen, and Guns N’ Roses might even agree with the heavily blues-influenced track, “Rock Is Dead,” which pays homage to the history of Rock n’ Roll. Perhaps the album’s strength is rooted in the band’s knack for exploiting every motif and stereotypical production technique from radio hits across the rock landscape.

Joined by frequent guest drummer Dave Grohl (of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame), the end result is their best work. Rize of the Fenix will provide hours of entertainment and many laughs for any, even remote fan of rock and roll.

Trial track: “Senorita”

Related Posts