WHEN the Northridge earthquake shook Los Angeles to its foundations in 1994, few could have anticipated that beneath the rubble and devastation, a seed of hope was beginning to take root.

Actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass channelled their love of music and power slides into the creation of the self-professed "greatest rock band in the world".

Thus Tenacious D was born, bestriding the planet with its foul-mouthed songs of drugs, celebrity and unerring love.

With just one song in its opening repertoire - Tribute, a brief musical history of Tenacious D about a shiny demon which commands the pair to "play the best song in the world, or I'll eat your soul!" - the band has developed a loyal fan base.

Global domination looms tantalisingly on the horizon with the release of Tenacious D In The Pick Of Destiny, an irreverent biopic that takes hilarious liberties with the truth to trace the two men's journey from obscurity to musical demi-gods.

The film begins with 10-year-old Jack (Gentile) clashing with his strict father (Meat Loaf), who reacts to his son's rendition of "Kickapoo" with several lashes of his belt.

Jack turns to one of his musical idols, Ronnie James Dio (playing himself) for guidance, and a poster of the rock legend comes to life, commanding the youngster to unearth the secrets of his art in Hollywood.

Visiting every town called Hollywood in North America, the fully-grown Jack eventually ends up in California where he meets Kyle on a Venice boardwalk, and the new found friends embark on a musical odyssey, including a trip to The Guitar Center to purchase a plectrum like their idols.

The sales guy (Stiller) ushers the two men into a back room. "What you seek is the Pick of Destiny," he tells them, relating the story stretching back to the Dark Ages, and a plectrum made from the tooth of a demon, which is now on display at the Rock And Roll History Museum.