[2][3] Their songs discuss the duo's purported musical and sexual prowess, their friendship and cannabis usage, in a style critics have compared with the storyteller-style lyrics of rock opera.

[9] The film was a box office failure and received mixed reviews, but the Pick of Destiny tour was successful, with performances at venues including Madison Square Garden.

[10] Following years of sporadic festival dates and special appearances, the band released their third album, Rize of the Fenix, in 2012, making light of The Pick of Destiny's commercial failure.

[13] In July 2024, Tenacious D cancelled their world tour and put their work on hold after Gass made a controversial on-stage joke about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

[26] The band's first on-stage appearance was at Highland Grounds in Los Angeles, a coffee shop, where they performed as The Axe Lords Featuring Gorgazon's Mischief, though the production was technically part of a variety event for the Actor's Gang.

[27] The band's first performance at an actual music event was a short appearance at Al's Bar in the summer of 1994, opening for The Abe Lincoln Story.

[2][31] Tenacious D continued to generate momentum on the Los Angeles music scene, notably performing headline shows at Al's Bar, Pedro's, Largo and The Actors' Gang studio.

[39] According to Gass, the series was cancelled after HBO requested ten episodes with the stipulation that he and Black would have to relinquish their role as executive producers,[41] and only write songs.

At a show at the Viper Room in Los Angeles, they met Dave Grohl, who remarked that he was impressed with their performance;[43][44] this led to their cameo in the Foo Fighters' "Learn to Fly" music video.

[38] As Black's profile increased due to his roles in films such as High Fidelity, the band recorded their first album, Tenacious D, with the producers the Dust Brothers.

[2] It was backed by a full band, consisting of Grohl on drums and guitar, keyboardist Page McConnell of Phish, guitarist Warren Fitzgerald of The Vandals, and bassist Steven Shane McDonald of Redd Kross.

[57] A third video, an animation depicting Black and Gass as cherubs, was made for "Fuck Her Gently", directed by the Ren and Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi.

[67] Filming had been expected to take place by the end of 2003;[68] however, it was delayed by almost a year due to Black being cast in Peter Jackson's big budget remake of King Kong.

[75] Kevin Crust of the Los Angeles Times said that the film "might best be enjoyed in an enhanced state of consciousness, a herbal supplement, and we aren't talking ginkgo biloba.

[64][91][94] In November 2006, Black expressed wishes to take a year-long break from acting, though Gass hinted a desire for Tenacious D to end at their current highpoint.

[105] In an interview with Spinner.com in December 2010, Black revealed that the band was "about halfway through the writing process" for its new album, telling fans to expect the release of new material "at the end of 2011".

The mockumentary, titled 'Tenacious D - To Be the Best', documents the uncertain future Tenacious D faced after the box-office failure of The Pick of Destiny, KG's subsequent breakdown and incarceration in "an institution", and Jack's embracing of an indulgent Hollywood lifestyle.

The film features numerous cameo appearances, including Maria Menounos, Val Kilmer, Dave Grohl, Yoshiki Hayashi, Josh Groban, Richard Ghagan, Mike White, Tim Robbins and Jimmy Kimmel.

[115] In 2018, before performing at Hell & Heaven Metal Fest in Mexico City, the band entered the stage to a short studio snippet of their new song "Post-Apocalypto Theme".

The night after this, Black asked the audience at Shaky Knees Music Festival in Atlanta, Georgia whether they had seen The Pick of Destiny and that "part 2 is coming out in October".

[118] On November 29, 2019, for Record Store Day's Black Friday, Tenacious D released a 'Blue Series' 7" Single, featuring the track "Don't Blow It, Kage".

[131] Gass apologized on social media, calling his comment "highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake", and that he did not condone violence "of any kind, in any form, against anyone", and described the shooting as a "tragedy".

'"[147] Russell Brand,[148] All Shall Perish,[149] The Lonely Island,[150] and Kanye West[151] have in turn been influenced by the work of Tenacious D. Black and Gass first performed together in Bio-Dome (1996),[16] followed by The Cable Guy (1996),[16] Bongwater (1997),[152] Cradle Will Rock (1999),[153] Saving Silverman (2001),[154] Shallow Hal (2001),[154] and Year One (2009).

[155] The duo contributed to the Annie Award-winning martial arts cartoon film Kung Fu Panda with Black as Po and Gass as KG Shaw.

Following The Pick of Destiny Tour, the band would go on to play Reading and Leeds Festivals,[175][176] Outside Lands,[177] Bonnaroo and the BlizzCon closing ceremony from 2008 to 2010,[178][179] as well as supporting the Foo Fighters in the fall of 2011.

[55] Black described his view that allowing drug use would remove the stigma of feeling "naughty" attached to users, making the activity mundane and less attractive.

[94] Tenacious D have appeared in numerous music videos by other bands, including "Learn to Fly" by the Foo Fighters, "Push" by Dio,[59] and "Photograph" by Weezer.

[192] In addition to appearing in videos, Black and Gass sang backup vocals on the 2003 Styx album Cyclorama, on the song "Kiss Your Ass Goodbye".

[197] The band also features JR Reed (Lee of Tenacious D) under the pseudonym "Darryl Donald", as well as Konesky and Spiker, who play lead guitar and bass.

The series featured guitar tutorials for Tenacious D songs, as well as interviews, equipment reviews, music shop tours and answering fan mail.