Capcom has pulled a video showing off new music for Devil May Cry 5 by the deathcore band Suicide Silence after fans pointed out that the band’s lead singer had been accused last November of having an emotionally manipulative and sexually inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old fan.
The track Capcom collaborated with Suicide Silence on is called “Subhuman,” and it debuted in a music video depicting the band at Tokyo Game Show yesterday. Silicon Era reported that the song was intended to be protagonist Dante’s battle theme in Devil May Cry 5. Some fans criticized the song itself on Twitter, ResetEra, and the game’s subreddit, and in these threads, a few commenters also pointed out that the Suicide Silence vocalist Eddie Hermida had been accused of preying on an underage fan.
Following these complaints, Capcom has pulled the video. The company told Kotaku in a statement that it won’t promote the song anymore and is still deciding how to move forward with regard to the music’s inclusion in the game itself:
“The music was recorded for the game before the incident came to light and we were unaware of the incident until now. However, as we are now aware of the current situation, Capcom has decided that moving forward, we will not further highlight the Dante battle theme for promotional purposes at this time. We are also currently evaluating what options are possible for the full game at this point, which is dependent on various factors such as resources.”
In November 2017, Loudwire reported that an Austrian fan had accused Hermida in a now-deleted Facebook post of sexually manipulating her and soliciting nude pictures from her when she was only 17: “He toyed with me and manipulated me into sending him nudes, which I was totally against. But hey, if your idol wants nudes, you send them.” In a Facebook post of his own, Hermida apologized for his behavior but also claimed the fan had told him she’d turned 18 prior to his soliciting nude pictures from her (a claim she had denied in her own post). “I was raised by a single mom who taught me to be respectful to all women,” wrote Hermida. “I am ashamed that I have failed.” Hermida did not immediately respond to a request by Kotaku for further comment.
When Capcom revealed “Subhuman” yesterday, video game composer Cody Matthew Johnson, who worked with Suicide Silence on the track, said the project had been two years in the making. However, now that Capcom has been made aware of the accusations against Hermida, it’s unclear whether it will still be a part of the finished game when it ships on March 8, 2019.