Jack Black and his music-making mate Kyle Gass start their third album by dealing with the fact the world wrote them off following their "bomb" of a second album, The Pick of Destiny, from 2006.
"The critics all agreed it was a stinky pile of chee," sings Black on the title track, accentuating the words as if he's bringing them up from the depths of his substantial wee belly.
"But," he snares cheekily, "one thing no one thought about was that the D will rise again ... just like the Fenix, we'll f****** rise again" Of course, he sings this in his best Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden) wail which is accompanied by a fearsome Maiden-style gallop. And then, pow, it breaks out into a Who-meets-AC/DC rifftastic rock 'n' roll celebration. Meanwhile, the third section of the four-part mini epic has heartfelt ponderings about what would happen if Tenacious D were dead ("What will we do about all the fans who have the D tattoo?").
But the D ain't dead. They're back, with Dave Grohl on drums again, in all their acoustic, metal, and comedic glory.
There's the ridiculous rhymes of Roadie, which they played when they supported Foo Fighters at Western Springs last year, the All My Life-like headbang of Low Hangin' Fruit; the hick, thigh-slapping hoe-down of Rock Is Dead and the synth-powered power metal of To Be the Best are two late highlights.
