Meet Jack Black and Kyle Gass, also known as Tenacious D. You'll probably recognise Jack - he's been in all manner of films, from Shallow Hal to High Fidelity.

Not heard of Tenacious D? Then I'm guessing you won't know what to expect... Well, the easiest way to describe their "style" is probably comedy rock. You can't help but laugh at some of the tracks on the album - I think Soho_Black's word of choice was "inspired". Combine heavy, thrashing acoustic guitars with highly implausible lyrics, and you've got a great and original band.

You'll be happy to know that this album is definitely good value for money - there are 21 tracks on the album which currently retails at £11.99 on Amazon. However, don't expect all of the tracks to be long...seven of the 21 are purely spoken, and seem to provide an introduction for the following track. But hey, they're still good - read on for emmorticia's guide to The D...

**********KIELBASA**********

"I check my dipstick, you need lubrication honey..."

Basically, a song about a bloke's "kielbasa sausage", and the woman he's interested in. See - even the first track on the album justifies the "parental advisory" sticker on the album's cover - don't expect this to be clean. It starts off pretty mellow, with a couple of acoustic guitars strumming away...then the lyrics and the drums come in...and then the instrumentals sound more like funk than rock. It's a fairly chilled out track to kick off the album, and to give us a taste of the bizarre humour that is yet to come...

**********ONE NOTE SONG**********

"...and just remember who wrote that song...me baby, me!"

Well, to be honest it's not really much of an accomplishment. This is the first of the "comedy" skits on the album - it's basically Jack telling Kyle to play one note, and bend it a little, to make an amazing new song. To be honest, it was reasonably funny the first time, but once you've heard it over and over again it's a little dull.

**********TRIBUTE**********

"And he said 'play the best song in the world...or I'll eat your soul'..."

If you've heard one Tenacious D song, this is probably it. It's quite amusing in that it has a storyline: Jack and Kyle are hitchhiking, they come across a demon who tells them they have to play the best song in the world or he'll eat their souls. So they played the first thing that came into their heads and it happened to be the best song in the world - Tribute is a tribute to it. A lot of the song is spoken, but there's a decent amount of singing and some great skatting. It really is a great song, but I know a lot of people are sick of it because it was massively overplayed on MTV. However, I'm still a big fan...it just makes me laugh!

**********WONDERBOY**********

"Wonderboy!!! What is the secret of your power?"

Another song with a story, this is the tale of Wonderboy and Nastyman and their quest to escape mucky-muck man and to form a band. Yes, I know...it's odd.

Despite being a strange song, musically it's very good. The backing carries very well all the way through, it's not a heavy rock song as such, but peaks slightly towards the end. The string effects are great, and really fit in with the rest of the track. Excellent, but another one that was slightly overplayed.

**********HARD F**KING**********

"I think it's a pretty common complaint..."

The second spoken skit. Only about 30 seconds long, this features the boys talking about the merits of hard f**king, and the fact that women don't always like it. Which introduces us nicely to our next song...

**********F**K HER GENTLY**********

"Sometimes you've got to squeeze, sometimes you've got to say please..."

To tell the truth, I want to describe the style of this song as a "love song", but considering the content, I'm not sure that's quite right! It's basically Jack warbling to the listener about how to....well, how to make love to a woman the right way! With gentle guitars playing in the background, the lyrics seem really out of place, but this just adds to the comedy...I like it!

**********EXPLOSIVO**********

"We are fuelled by Satan, yes we are schooled by Satan..."

In my opinion, the most rock-like track on the album. It's catchy, it's got a fast, upbeat rhythm and the bass guitar is great! The lyrics make mention of "smoking weed", and listening to the rest of them, you kind of get the feeling that Jack was high when he wrote it...but never mind! The track is short and sweet, and a much-needed dose of rock. Stunning.

**********DIO**********

"You're too old to rock, no more rockin' for you..."

A song about metal legend Ronnie James Dio and how he's getting too old, and it is time for The D to step into his shoes...they want to be kings of rock! The perfect follow-up to Explosivo - this track is also pretty heavy, with some great guitar riffs and a strong beat. Reminds me slightly of Queen in some ways...and that's definitely a good thing!

**********INWARD SINGING**********

"Check it out, it's an invention and it makes non-stop rocking possible!"

Another skit. The technique of singing while breathing in will revolutionise rock, according to Jack - at the moment singers are only entertaining you for half the time, as for the rest they're breathing in. He demonstrates his technique to Kyle, whose reaction is priceless, causing Jack to explode. After telling Kyle he's fired from the band, Kyle tells him there's no need as he's quit anyway, leading into...

**********KYLE QUIT THE BAND**********

"This is our song of exalting joy..."

Yes, after Kyle quit, he came back - this is a song about the fact that they are back together again. It starts off all emotional but then when they decide they'll have a "big old bash" the drums and guitars get so much heavier and much more rock-y, culminating in a massive climax towards the end. The song is only a minute and a half long, which makes me wonder if they should have included it at all...don't get me wrong, the actual music side of it is pretty damn good, but the lyrics are awful and it just seems to be there to fill up space. Moving on...

**********THE ROAD**********

"The road is a be-a-itch my friend, but it's the only f**king road I know..."

As soon as you hear the solitary drums at the start, you know you're in for something big. After a matter of seconds, the song builds up immensely with a great rhythm and stunning instrumentals. There's also a piano involved, and the piano part is awesome. The song slows down in the second half slightly, and I'm definitely seeing some similarities with Queen here again. Almost definitely the best track on the album - this is real rock and what the D are good at...apart from dodgy comedy, of course.

**********COCK PUSHUPS**********

"D'you think this'll make us umm.. more attractive to the ladies?"

Well, apparently the release of the album WILL make the lads more attractive! So Jack starts talking about the cock pushups he'd been doing in advance...I'm not going to explain the concept here on Ciao, but I'm sure you can imagine! Quite amusing, this sketch...but gets a little dull after a while.

**********LEE**********

"I had a friend named Lee, he cast a spell, a spell on me!"

I really don't know why I added the exclamation mark after that quote - it's really not that amusing a song. It's all about Jack's friend Lee, and is basically "Lee" repeated over and over again - I don't think there's a single line that doesn't rhyme with the name. It's a shame, really, as the actual music is quite good - it's hard, it's fast, and it's way over too quickly (insert your own sex jokes here). The word "space filler" springs to mind again...

**********FRIENDSHIP TEST**********

"I said I love you man, just wanted to say it"

As the title said, it's a friendship test! Another skit with Jack testing Kyle's friendship with those three little words we all know and....err....love. Pretty good, and links nicely to...

**********FRIENDSHIP**********

"As long as there's a record deal we'll always be friends..."

Awwww...how sweet. A song about Jack and Kyle's friendship. The track carries really well, with a reasonably fast beats and consistent guitar riffs. Lyrics are a bit bizarre, though - with shooting bears, running naked in the sand and mention of Jack's "derriere", it's odd but original!

**********KARATE SCHNITZEL**********

"Dude, where's my f**king schnitzel?"

Skit where, basically, Jack looks in the fridge for his schnitzel as he's hungry, finds it's missing, realise Kyle has eaten it and starts practising his karate skills on him. Well, we all know where this is going - it's just there to introduce...

**********KARATE**********

"With karate I'll kick your a*s from here to Tianenmen Square..."

At only just over a minute long, this song is all about how Jack's going to punish Kyle for eating his schnitzel. Hey, I told you at the beginning of the op that they were bizarre! The beat isn't really that worthy even of a little toe-tapping, and this is yet another track screaming "FILLER!!!" at me.

**********ROCK YOUR SOCKS**********

"Cause rock 'n roll is bogus, right KG?"

Woohoo! Now THIS is what I'm really after! Heavy guitars, an overload of drums, and extreme musical talent! This is the band telling us just what they can do - well, just look at the title! As well as an amazing rock song with great guitar solos and a beat that'll grab you completely, they also manage to fit the comedy in here as well. When talking about being "classically trained to rock your socks off", in comes a short classical interlude...yes, they play some Bach. Played on Kyle's guitar, Jack even sings along to it in his own words...it's not only hilarious, but it confirms these guys' musical talent.

**********DRIVE-THRU**********

"SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO MY ORDER!!"

The last skit of the album, and my favourite of the lot! Basically, it's Jack and Kyle pretending to go to a drive thru - Kyle plays the restaurant server who is massively abused by Jack. This really is amusing - you'll have to listen to it to believe me!

**********DOUBLE TEAM**********

"Ho ho ho who's this? How's it goin'?"

(I could have put a much better quote on here, but I don't think Ciao would have been too happy...)

Basically, another song about sex - it's Jack trying to organise "an evening" with a lady he strikes up conversation with, him and Kyle. Hmmmm..

This song is more of the funk genre - it's got a distinctly seventies feel to it, with its guitar riffs that are incredibly heavy, but with a decent, funky rhythm. This song is hilarious - it's absolutely ridiculous and the lyrics are highly amusing (maybe even shocking for some people) but the lyrics and the instrumentals together really do make an amazing song. Definitely one of the best of the album.

**********CITY HALL**********

"People inside me are askin' me to blow up City Hall,
'cause no one here is rockin'."

Tired of all the songs that have been released that are trying to be political? Well, this is basically a send-up of those. It really is absolute genius from the guys. After rioting in the city, the D decide they must rebuild, and they will become kings! "No, not me and KG, we don't have the cognitive capacity to lead...alright, we'll do it!" Remind you of Mr Bush, anyone?"

The majority of this song isn't actually sung, it's spoken over the music. It's a very bizarre song - not really that rock-y for most of it, but fairly chilled and mellow. In my opinion, they would have been better finishing off the album with a bang - but I guess they had the choice of either rock or comedy...

So, that's the album, from one end to the other. I honestly don't know whether I prefer the comedy or the music on this album - it's incredibly original in that it combines the two, but often seems to go for the comedy rather than the rock option. Tenacious D, I don't believe, will manage number one records if they keep this up - but the album shows that they have massive potential which, if their songs were slightly more serious, could be used to the full and they could turn out some amazing stuff. This album, though, in my opinion is a great debut - the comedy sections are entertaining, the lyrics are amusing and original, and the guitar playing is awesome - they may lack the ability to be completely serious, but they certainly do not lack talent...