Fearless Records
21/03/25
Words by Greg Walker
India’s Bloodywood find themselves the spearhead of Indian Folk Nu-metal, injecting their social experiences into lyrical content unique to their people’s perspective. Utilising modern technology to their advantage, a series of singles released on YouTube propelled Bloodywood to international recognition, allowing the band to undertake their 2019 European Raj Against The Machine tour that opened the world to their impressive music, not to mention their philanthropic work. The band exerts a commendable effort for and against issues close to their lives, culture, and heart; the proceeds from their 2019 tour were put into a new ambulance for The POSH Foundation, benefitting India’s vast population of street dogs. Projected to save 15+ street dogs a day, the 5-year life expectancy of the ambulance would amount to 27,000 animals saved. Bloodywood represents those who can’t represent themselves, whether they be victims of bullying, social injustices, rape culture, or street dogs with little hope for betterment. And this admiration comes before you’ve heard their new album!
Bloodywood’s upcoming effort Nu Delhi is entirely their own, full of eclectic yet seamless fusions of traditional Indian instrumentation with thumping downtuned Nu-metal, classic rap versus melodic stylings, all charged with authentic bombastic energy. As a whole, Nu Delhi is a heavier affair than previous album Rakshak, opening cracker Halla Bol case in point. Halla Bol launches straight into Bloodywood’s trademark Indian folk flavouring before cracking wide open with a classic Nu-metal bounce. Raoul Kerr’s English rapping is more organic than ever before, cleverly entwined with vocalist Jayant Bhadula’s mix of Punjabi and Hindi. The description sounds like a mish-mash but comes off masterly.
Nu Delhi’s three pre-release singles well represent the band and its material. Title track Nu Delhi has a similar feel to their Machi Bhasad, structured around Raoul’s rapping verses and Jayant’s clean choruses interspersed with angry harsh barks. A fantastic command of their chosen metal genre delightfully supported by cultural flair, Nu Delhi is an aural illustration of their home town’s many contrasts. While not entirely original by any means, the approach is unique enough to remain fresh into their second full length. Tadka is a celebration of Indian cuisine, humorous but at the same time metaphorical, featuring a soaring chorus followed by a giant fist-pumping chant that would be welcomed by any mosh pit worldwide. Serial guest contributors Babymetal make an appearance on second single Bekhauf, bringing their own cultural injection to proceedings for an upbeat stomping anthem backed by an exciting anime film clip with all the fantasy and fanfare of the Japanese medium.
Dhadak deserves special mention: it’s especially heavy, upbeat, with Jayant’s voice giving a hint of Greek God Demis Roussos; that’s maybe a weird suggestion but the sound takes me back to a pleasant childhood memory. Kismat delivers that epic soaring chorus vocal structure, and multi-instrumentalist, producer, and composer Karan Katiyar’s influence on the end results can’t be understated. Obviously influenced by the Occident guides, Bloodywood can sometimes come across as a little generic, but what they lack in that area they more than make up for in executing their fusion of Indian cultures, ultimately standing apart from their Western contemporaries.
Tackling issues endemic to Indian societies and cultures, Bloodywood could be easily dismissed in passing as a Subcontinental System Of A Down. They are, however, more straightforward, melding their material with much more of their cultural background than the Armenians; at a guess the compositions are a 50/50 blend of the expected Nu-metal fare backed by traditional Indian instrumentation and lyrical language. This is a bold approach when trying to break into foreign markets conventionally used to English only performances, especially from a country such as India whose presence in metal could be viewed as a novelty and using English would be a quicker springboard to deserved recognition. But I feel Bloodywood has taken a wise approach by fully embracing who they are and where they’ve come from.
I’d love to see Bloodywood on an Aussie touring festival. Good Things Festival would be great exposure but a Knotfest appearance would be appealing to their direct market. I’d certainly be lining up to absolutely throw down to these purpose-built mosh monster tracks and to support a group supporting societal causes bigger than themselves.
