Scarlet Pimpernel. The Devil Plays – The Devil Wins

It’s a question every metal‑loving fan of the Tenacious D’s film has asked at least once. That brief, blazing moment when the Devil steps into the Rock-Off and unleashes a riff so heavy and melodic it practically melts the soul – only to be cut short by JB’s panicked “STOP!” – has haunted listeners for nearly two decades.

Forty seconds. Forty seconds of pure infernal brilliance, and then… Well, it does not matter what was then. That divine music piece never unfolded into a complete piece.

But what if that brief eruption of sound was not interrupted? What would have come out? The “Scarlet Pimpernel. The Devil Plays – The Devil Wins” is my version of that.

A quick trip back to the Tenacious D’s Pick of Destiny lore

The Tenacious D created its “Pick of Destiny” masterpiece so long ago (year 2006) that even the most devoted fans may have forgotten what this musical rock comedy is about. So, let’s take a moment to revisit the chaotic world of Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny.

The film is about the adventures of the musical band named Tenacious D, which actually exists and its members Jack Black and Kyle Gass starred as the main characters of the film.

The fictitious film starts when the young Jay Bi performs his rock song with genitalia-themed words in front of his religious family in the town of Kickapoo. Immediately after this mini-concert the young Jay Bi get’s punished. When he’s thinking about his fate, he asks a portrait of Dio (one of rock’s legendary performers) hanging on the door for help. The still image becomes alive and tells young Jay Bi about the magical pick belonging to Satan that makes a musician who uses it to become rock legend.

Jay Bi comes to Los Angeles, where he meets a Kay Gi performing on the street. Jay Bi immediately wants to partner with him and make a legendary rock band.

Cutting a film short (watch it if you haven’t): after several musically filled adventures Jay Bi and Kay Gi find the Pick and get to play in some bar. Naturally, things go sideways. Jay Bi loses the Pick, it touches the ground and Satan emerges out of hell to get it back.

Once the Devil appears, the protagonists, convinced of their own musical superiority, challenge him to a rock battle. Bound by his ancient codex, the Devil cannot refuse, and with a gesture he conjures a fully equipped studio around them, transforming the space into a stage that looks like a place where real music emerges.

The riff that never got a chance

That scene of a rock off battle was a mix of talking and several musical pieces. The “Scarlet pimpernel” is the peak of that scene, but it never got developed past the first verse.

In the film, this performance lasts only about forty seconds before JB, overwhelmed and panicking, shouts “Stop!”, abruptly cutting off what many fans consider one of the most promising musical moments in the entire movie.

The people behind the film did not publish the full length musical piece of Devil’s play in that music battle. As far as one can tell, those forty seconds are all that were ever produced, leaving metal fans with a fragment that hints at something larger but never delivers it.

Extending the Devil’s pure metal magic with technology

Today, however, we have tools that didn’t exist when the film was released. With modern AI, it becomes possible to imagine what the Devil’s full performance might have sounded like by extending the spirit of what was there, following its musical logic and lyrical tone into a complete piece.

This musical piece - Scarlet Pimpernel. The Devil Plays - The Devil Wins - is an attempt to imagine that complete piece.

💾 Download the MP3 of Scarlet Pimpernel. The Devil Plays - The Devil Wins

Below is one such interpretation: a continuation of the Devil’s voice, written to match the cadence, attitude, and thematic direction of the original scene.

I'm the devil, I love metal!
Check this riff, it's fucking tasty
I'm the devil, I can do what I want,
Whatever I got I'm gonna flaunt,
There's never been a rock off that I've ever lost
I can't wait to take Kage back to hell
I'm gonna fill him with my hot demon gel
I'll make him squeal like my scarlet pimpernel

I am the master, the sound of fire,
My chords ignite, they will never tire.
Your mortal strings are weak and small,
I’ll crush your spirit, I’ll take it all.


I’m the Devil, I rule the stage,
My voice is thunder, my wrath is rage.
No mortal song can break my spell,
I’ll drag you screaming back to hell!

Kage, you tremble, your rhythm fades,
Your melody dies in the light of my blaze.
I forged the music, I own the flame,
Your pitiful notes can’t match my name.


Music is war, it cuts, it scars,
It builds empires, it shatters stars.
I am the chaos, the primal scream,
The nightmare king, the shattered dream.

I’m the Devil, I rule the stage,
My voice is thunder, my wrath is rage.
No mortal song can break my spell,
I’ll drag you screaming back to hell!

This is the pact, the eternal fight,
Your song is fading into the night.
No mortal melody can ever win,
The Devil plays - the Devil’s sin.

Your spirit breaks, your chords collapse,
I hold the world within my grasp.
The rock-off ends, the crown is mine,
The Devil reigns for all of time.

I’m the Devil, I rule the stage,
My voice is thunder, my wrath is rage.
No mortal song can break my spell,
I’ll drag you screaming back to hell!


The battle’s done, the stage is bare,
The Devil’s music fills the air.
Kage has fallen, the war is won,
The Devil reigns - the only one.

Now, the full force of the Devil’s musical wrath can be felt again.

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