Way before Jack Black became famous as an actor, he was a musician. He met Kyle Gass in 1989 as they joined a theater troupe called The Actor's Gang in Los Angeles. Black was the main musician for the group and he found something in common with Gass that prompted him to form a band with him. They exchanged skills, Gass teaching Black guitar and Black teaching Gass acting.

As a duo, they first covered songs by other established artists and went nameless up to 1994. They even let the audience at a bar to decide what moniker they should use, giving them such choices as Balboa's Biblical Theater. Tenacious D did not get the most votes but the duo "forced it through". Tenacious D recorded their demos and distributed them to various labels.

David Cross happened to be in the audience seat of their first concert. He was interested in developing a three half-hour show based on the band. "Tenacious D" was premiered on HBO in 1997 but the series did not meet a long life. Nevertheless, their popularity increased through the series and they began performing live as opening acts for Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam and others.

It was not until May 2000 that Tenacious D got a recording deal with Epic Records. The band immediately worked on their debut album and released it as self-titled a year later. The album, which features Dave Grohl in drum, managed to peak at number 33 on Billboard Hot 200 chart. The album spawned singles which were praised for their comedic music videos. "F*ck Her Gently", for example, animated Gass and Black as cherubs.

Because of their acting background, Black and Gass agreed to do a movie based on the band. "Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny" was announced in 2003 as a fictional portrayal of the band's formation. The movie led to a soundtrack album which became the band's sophomore effort. "The Pick of Destiny" was released in November 2004 a week before the movie opened wide in Los Angeles. Despite cameos from rock stars and actors, "Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny" did not perform well on the box office.

It was a different case with the soundtrack. The album reached number 8 on Hot 200 and number 10 in U.K. Albums chart. Tenacious D embarked on a tour to support the album throughout 2006 to 2007, visiting U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia and New Zealand among others. In 2008, Black said the band were working on a third album, and a DVD titled "The Complete Masterworks Part 2" which included documentary of their tour.

Although Black's acting jobs kept pouring in, he made time for Tenacious D live performances at music festivals around the world. They took the main stage of Bonnaroo Festival in 2010, playing "Dio" which was a tribute to the late Ronnie James Dio. After years of hiatus and some work in the studio, the band were ready to release the first single from their third album.

"Rize of the Fenix" is the titular song which was released in March 2012 along with a 6-minute film on YouTube titled "Tenacious D - To Be The Best". It's a mockumentary of Tenacious D's up and down as they experienced box office failure and Black concentrating on his acting career. The album was released on May 15, 2012 in North America where it sold 49,000 units in the first week and entered the Hot 200 chart at number 4. Over in U.K., "Rize of the Fenix" got in at number two in the Top 40 U.K. Albums Chart with under 16,000 sales.