Overview

Devil May Cry Dante's Selection was the first album ever released for the Devil May Cry series, preceding both the Devil May Cry Sound DVD Book and Devil May Cry Original Soundtrack. This three track promotional single was given away to Japanese customers to wet their appetite for the game. This selection was intended to reflect Dante's preference for hard music and hence embellish his character. It also reflected the aspirations of the game's composers to produce an action-packed score with mainstream appeal.

Body

The CD opens with L'Arc~en~Ciel drummer Yukihiro's first solo single, "Ring the Noise". This is a formidable industrial rock theme with aggressive vocals, abrasive bass riffs, and increasingly rapid electronic beats. It was not featured in the game in preference for mostly instrumental music, though likely served as an inspiration for the similarly styled themes in Devil May Cry 3. However, it still served as a great way to promote an aspiring artist.

The second track is the original mix of "Lock & Load", which has since been immortalised as Dante's theme. What is so remarkable about this piece is that it manages to be utterly endearing to almost all listeners despite focusing on aggressive and fast-paced electronic beats. It's definitely more catchy than most electronica out there, but not at the sacrifice of maturity, and also captures Dante's extravagance well. This theme is also included as a bonus track on the Devil May Cry Original Soundtrack.

The CD is concluded with a high-octane battle theme "S". Once again, Ueda demonstrates great flair for creating compelling and elaborate electronic mixes, offering something highbrow yet very catchy. The best feature of this theme is the way that an organ interpretation of Sparda's gothic theme can also be heard in the background. It just adds that extra wow factor. Another bonus track on the official soundtrack, it's used in the game in the bonus mode when you can play as Sparda.

Summary

Were I a school kid in Japan during 2001, this CD would have certainly excited me. Would I want to start up the game? Yes. Would I put the single on loop? Sure would. Would I want to buy more of Yukihiro's music? Quite possibly. Would I want the full soundtrack? Definitely. While the full soundtrack took a long time to arrive, it's truly a fantastic achievement and this promotional album seems insufficient in comparison. Definitely a great promotion item, but it has become redundant with time.