Of Destiny Videos - Tenacious D In The Pick

The third video in the Pick of Destiny cycle is the true masterpiece. “The Metal” is not even a song from the film’s narrative proper; it’s a bonus track on the soundtrack. But its video is the Rosetta Stone for understanding the band’s ego.

Unlike the live-action Tribute, the “Pick of Destiny” video is a hybrid. It opens with the film’s climax: JB (Jack Black) dangling from the giant "POD" (Pick of Destiny) statue. As he sings the rock opera belter “I need the Pick of Destiny!”, the screen explodes into psychedelic, rotoscoped animation.

This sequence is crucial. The animation allows the D to depict the un-filmable: tenacious d in the pick of destiny videos

Though Tribute (2003) predates the film, it functions as the legendary prologue. The video—a low-budget masterpiece of desert weirdness (Sasquatch, a demon with glittery eyes, a “beelzeboss” made of cardboard)—introduces the D’s core paradox: they almost defeated the devil but can’t remember their own song. This video establishes the pick as a MacGuffin before the film even names it.

Then comes “The Pick of Destiny” (main single). Directed by Liam Lynch (the D’s longtime collaborator), the video condenses the entire film’s first act into four minutes: The third video in the Pick of Destiny

What’s remarkable is the economy of storytelling: the video clarifies the pick’s origin (carved from a tooth of Satan’s own nephew, “Shoggoth”) better than the film’s opening narration.

The video opens with JB and KG sitting on a couch, arguing. A title card appears: "Tenacious D vs. The Modern Music Scene." What follows is a gauntlet sequence where the D must face off against caricatures of other musical genres: What’s remarkable is the economy of storytelling :

The film The Pick of Destiny suffers from a bloated runtime, sagging second act, and studio notes (the original ending had the D losing to the devil). The music videos avoid these problems because: