The band that has been making bigger waves than Bollywood. It plays out better, for nothing has caught fever across the globe in metal than Bloodywood. Their first album Rakshak had all the elements for a band to create a niche in “Indian Metal”. There was nothing like that. There is now. This is their second album-marking true territory. Yeh hai Nu Delhi (This is Nu Delhi).
The miracle that is Karan Katiyar seems to be the biggest boon the band has ever got. From being the producer, flautist, band manager, guitarist and official “vibe creator”, the polymath has done it all. He is responsible for the massive vision that is Bloodywood-the sensation that crosses languages and boundaries. Making sure every box is checked, he has a dhol player, a rapper and someone who can scream their lungs out. Socialist methods? More like true band inclusivity. Combining Hindi and Punjabi lyrics, they made sure there was the global appeal to their powerful, resonating music. Now there was only one thing to do. Go viral.
Their cover of Ari Ari shook the metal world with reviews from Nik Nocturnal & Steve Terreberry. Actress Ileana D’Cruz was instrumental to their initial success, uploading their cover on her Instagram story. They went massive from an indie band “trying something out” to the mammoths they are now. Don’t be fooled-they calculated every step of how much effort they put into the music they make. It’s a lot. Bloodywood became the precedent for “Bollywood metal”, when all they did was one cover. Welcome the barrage of original music after that.
Rakshak had the nuances of Karan Katiyar’s composition and metal mastery. Not only was he able to proportion his culture and his love for the metal that raised him-he was open to experiment. Rap metal has to be very good for it to blow up. He ensured he did that by picking Raoul Kerr. Though he was supposed to “lend” his voice to the band for a few songs, he ended up becoming an integral part of their wholesome sound. Vishesh Singh joined as a drummer, Sarthak Pahwa picked up the dhol and Roshan Roy gave the booming bass. The band as we know it now was officially complete in the final form. What is the music they were going to make?
Karan is still the mind behind the absolutely bludgeoning riffs that hit us. Let’s admit it, with his nuances in production and riff composition, he knows how to thrill us with the chorus sections and verse explosions. For the raps, he allows the flow of the verses to dominate the punctuation. The man is a master-and the second album definitely shows it.
Opening with Halla Bol, an anthem is born again. It’s time to revolt and rebel, and this is the kind of song to really push the message. The band comes together and brings the heat for a brilliant opening. Electronic elements fuse in decent proportion with the heavy gut punches of metal. I’ll admit it’s a bit much for me in some places, but that’s the style they have committed to as a band. Hutt comes next, reenergizing us with a song that literally means “Move”. If you’re not helping, you’re standing in the way, and here’s a band that really doesn’t like it. There’s a beautiful string section in odd time for the closing of the song. It’s refreshing to see a collective be so genuine and passionate about their cause-Bloodywood have got it and will continue to have it.
Let’s get into the star collaboration that the band really monetized on. Bekhauf features the Japanese metal band Babymetal, and the song blew up as a single itself. I heard it first being performed in Bandland 2024, and I was pleasantly surprised at the ladies for attempting to sing Hindi lyrics with such accuracy. Not only this, but the video had some nice animations and was well appreciated. Bloodywood set the stage for an unexpected collab, and the world is better because of it. A decent job, done with passion and power.
Tadka’s funny video and Nu Delhi have to be the bloodline highlights of this album. The band go batshit crazy for their city, and the city loves them for it. Really. I have seen Delhiites come all the way to Bengaluru as roadies to enjoy and support their band. Or they just worked in IT and lied to me. Either way, they have established the raw fire and rage they encapsulate from the city of a thousand moods. Cage the anger, and let it out through art. Of course that’s the Delhi way. While going global, the band has heard a tug on their clothes from the back. It’s their city, and they said humein bhoola mat ( don’t forget us). They didn’t.
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Self professed metalhead, moderately well read. If the music has soul, it's whole to me. The fact that my bio could have ended on a rhyme and doesn't should tell you a lot about my personality.
