The new rap-metal song, co-written by songwriter Mako, kicks off season 2 of the Netflix animated series
Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach, Hanumankind and Adi Shankar. Photos: Travis Shinn (Papa Roach), Maitreya Shah (Hanumankind), Nogen Beck (Adi Shankar)
American rock band Papa Roach and hip-hop star Hanumankind’s new song “See U In Hell” holds up a sonic mirror to the complicated lives and actions of Netflix series Devil May Cry characters Dante and Vergil, while also standing on its own as a surging rap-metal tune.
Papa Roach frontman Jacoby Shaddix tells Rolling Stone India, “We wanted to tell the story of these two brothers — the pain, the anger, the resentment, the frustration, the battle, the war between them. When you can’t forgive, it just keeps bringing you hell. It’s an important story. I think it’s a lesson in a way. Don’t hold these resentments. Don’t hold these grudges. They crush you down.”
The new song – timed with the release of season 2 of the animated adaptation of the video game series – was conceived as a project by Devil May Cry executive producer Adi Shankar, along with Netflix music exec Arun Ganapathy. Shankar tells Rolling Stone India, “Arun really functioned like the A&R/production management brain both on this song and on ‘Afterlife’ by Evanescence on Season 1.”
The idea from Ganapathy was to have a “brothers” track, just as “Afterlife” was the show character Lady’s theme song in season 1. “I immediately knew that it had to speak to Dante and Vergil not just as rivals, but as two damaged people carrying the same wound in opposite directions. To me, this song could represent the emotional core of the season, a song that could say what the brothers themselves can’t say out loud,” Shankar says.
Bringing together Papa Roach’s incendiary, anthem-like riffs and Shaddix’s screams, Hanumankind parachutes into “See U In Hell” with a destructive rap verse addressing a brother and battling demons —both inner and outer — over a beat drop. The rapper ad-libs a few more bars in the second chorus and outro as well.
Shankar says, “My idea was rap and rock for this track, because Dante and Vergil don’t feel like the same genre. Dante has a reckless, dirty-rock energy. Vergil is colder and more controlled, but underneath that, there’s rage. I wanted the track to hold both frequencies at once.”
Shaddix, for his part, is all praise for the “Big Dawgs” hitmaker, who released his debut mixtape Monsoon Season in 2025. “The dude is the real deal. We didn’t meet each other before this. I’ve been a fan. I love ‘Big Dawgs,’ such an amazing track. We bang it in the dressing room before shows all the time,” he says. The Papa Roach founder went on to go home and boast to his kids about working with Hanumankind when they were approached for the song.
The band and the rapper met in person as well. Shaddix calls Hanumankind “the hardest working and most humble.” He adds, “We learned a lot about him in the first five or ten minutes we were with him. It was like, ‘Dang dude, you’re one of us.’ Fist-pounds and bear hugs all around.”
Shankar says, “it was a whole other adventure” to bring Hanumankind to be a part of “See U In Hell,” eventually getting connected via visual artist Santanu Hazarika. “What I love about HMK is that he’s not asking permission from anybody. He’s kicking the door open rather than waiting to be invited. HMK feels like someone who could walk straight into the Devil May Cry universe,” Shankar adds.
American songwriter and electronic artist Alex Seaver, aka Mako, who also composed music for the series, worked on “Afterlife” and returns with a co-lyricist and co-composer credit on “See U In Hell” alongside Tyler Demorest. He created the initial demo for the song before Shankar went on to find the right artists.
“Mako is an emotional assassin. He can write something huge and melodic, but there’s always a painful truth under it. He’s fluent in both score and pop songwriting, which is rare. He can build something cinematic, but still give you the memorable hook,” Shankar says.
The song and the visuals of Dante and Vergil in Devil May Cry bring back a sense of nostalgia for anyone who grew up watching fan-made music videos for nu-metal songs that used anime show scenes. Papa Roach were already in the know about the animated series from Capcom, considering “Last Resort” was used in season 1. “Anime is so massive and opens us up to a whole new demographic of Papa Roach fans. We know a lot of P-Roach fans love anime, and we loved the idea of putting our music in the places where our fans are. It’s an honor,” Shaddix says.
Between Indian-origin creatives like Shankar and Ganapathy, and working with Hanumankind, who’s taken rap from India global, “See U In Hell” brings Papa Roach a little bit closer to the subcontinent. Shaddix gives a shout-out to fans in India. “We want to get over there and rock. This is a way to bring the two cultures together with a piece of music, a piece of art, a show. This one is for the culture crossover – we love you guys,” he adds.
