“Rize of the Fenix” is the first studio album from comedy-rock band Tenacious D in more than five years. Their last release, Pick of Destiny (2006) earned mixed reviews for its predictability and repetitiveness.
Instead of ignoring those reviews, the band decided to acknowledge the failure of their last release and improve upon it. Unlike some bands that try to ignore the past, Tenacious D decided to be more blatant about addressing their shortcomings, even highlighting the weaknesses of the last record on their newest offering’s opening track.
The first song and title track of the album “Rize Of The Fenix” hearkens back to familiar territory for “The D,” who commence poking fun at the last record’s reception. But just like the phoenix, Jack Black, the band’s vocalist vows that they will “rise again.”
It seems the band has regrouped with all the key elements in place including acoustic guitars, vocal harmonies, tongue-in-cheek lyrics and the appearance of Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame back behind the drum kit.
Though the band seems to be back to their initial sound, the album starts to wane about halfway though. As the album progresses some listeners may feel that if it weren’t for Black and member Kyle Gass much of the record would not warrant a second listen.
Songs such as “Throwdown” cover familiar territory and, while not a bad song, it does not seem to contain the “wow factor” that The D had been known for on their first self-titled release over ten years ago.
Even the recent single “Roadie” seems like a middle-of-the-road track. Although the music video features Danny McBride from the television program Eastbound & Down, the song just isn’t that funny.
It seems that the rest of the record follows suit aside from a few songs.
It’s unfortunate that none of the songs reach the heights of fan favorites “Wonderboy” and “Tribute.” There are some tracks such as “Throwdown” and “Deth Starr” that had the potential to be great but ended up falling flat.
Ultimately the album is fun but doesn’t have the lasting appeal that the band’s debut record had. In ten years, it’s likely that people will still remember “Fuck Her Gently” but I doubt many will recall “Low Hangin’ Fruit.”
Anthony Saia can be reached at [email protected]