Bloodywood – ‘Rakshak’ (Self-Released)

By Jonny Bakes

I feel like I’ve been waiting an age for this album after stumbling across this relatively unknown band a few years ago. When I first heard them, I was immediately taken aback by the unique combination of aggressive metal and traditional Indian music, it was almost like Bhangra with extra BHANG! This was coupled with an ability to not take themselves too seriously, which was made abundantly clear with their metal cover of viral hit ‘Tunak Tunak Tun’ which cemented Bloodywood in my regular plays. More recently, it seems that the ÜK metal community has caught on to this cultural phenomenon with a slot at the 2020 Bloodstock event… which didn’t happen, so it rolled over into 2021… which they were unable to make. Nevertheless, I’m hoping that this year will be third time lucky as the Bloodywood hype just keeps on building, and I expect it to gain even more momentum with the release of debut album ‘Rakshak’ which I am fortunate enough to get an early listen to!

Bloodywood first hit the scene in 2016 starting out by simply uploading metal covers of pop songs which culminated in a collection titled ‘Anti-Pop Vol. 1’. As these covers gained popularity, the band began to drip-feed original songs into the mix and began to settle on a style which is essentially a hybrid of nu-metal and Indian folk music – “Nu-Delhi Metal”, you might say! Switching between their native language and English, the vocals blend rapping, guttural growls and melodic choruses to fantastic effect. This is accompanied by seriously aggressive guitar riffs, rib cage-rattling drums and a healthy dose of ethnic instruments and influences that brings a whole new level of energy. Lyrically, Bloodywood cover heavy themes such as poverty, sexual assualt and mental health in a raw and honest way that draws influence from Linkin Park and Rage Against the Machine (in fact an earlier Bloodywood tour was titled “Raj Against the Machine”)

Sometimes I struggle to pick a couple of songs that stand out in an album, but with ‘Rakshak’ I have the opposite problem in that pretty much every track stands out! The whole album is full of energy from start to finish, even ballads carry such powerful emotion that they demand 100% of your attention. From ‘Gaddar’ to ‘Chakh Lee’, this album is simply fantastic and is refreshingly different to anything else that’s out there at the moment! Some of the tracks are remasters of previously released singles, like ‘Yaad’ and ‘Machi Bhasad’ which have had just a little bit of polish to bring them in line with the rest of the material recorded for ‘Rakshak’, as these had both already been big hits with me, I was glad to see their inclusion! In fact, one of these just about edges its way into my favourite tracks on the album…

‘Yaad’ is a haunting ballad that starts out with a peaceful flute melody that leads into a guitar riff that is reminiscent of Puddle of Mudd’s ‘Blurry’. Even though this is an emotional ballad by nature this does not stop the music reaching huge crescendos where ethnic and modern metal drums combine into a force to be reckoned with and face melting guitar solos interrupt the passionate rapped verses and harrowing choruses. I found that some of the lines managed to instantly embed themselves in my memory and rattle their way around my head throughout the day – “Do you remember when I said I would love you forever and you thought it would only last as long as we were together…” It may be a bit cliché but that didn’t make it any less powerful!

Overall, I think this is the first album that has really got me genuinely excited this year! I’d always thought that Bloodywood showed a lot of potential, and this debut album absolutely proves me right! The combination of aggressive English rapping, heavy riffs and ethnic instruments ticks all of my boxes and combines to become a force to be reckoned with. The influence from the nu metal bands of the 2000s is pretty clear and I think anyone who was rocking Linkin Park in their teens will feel a sense of familiarity in ‘Rakshak’. Quite simply though ‘Rakshak’ is an unstoppable force of metal and shows that Bloodywood are pioneers of a sound that is unique and exciting (and I’m still standing by the name “Nu-Delhi Metal”). I would urge anyone who is even a little bit curious to delve in and see what’s on offer!

‘Rakshak’ is released on 18 February. You can get your copy HERE.
Bloodywood are due to play a series of dates in the UK at the end of next month, starting in Brighton on 24 March and visiting Milton Keynes, Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol and Birmingham before finishing at the Islington Academy on 31 March. They are then scheduled to play Bloodstock on Friday 12 August.

www.facebook.com/bloodywood.delhi