Bloodywood

About Bloodywood

Bloodywood started as a parody project in New Delhi around 2016, which is probably the most unexpected origin story for a band that now plays metal festivals across Europe. Jayant Bhadula, Karan Katiyar, and Raoul Kerr initially made their name covering pop songs with heavy metal makeovers. Their version of "Jingle Bells" and a brutal take on "Tunak Tunak Tun" went viral enough that people actually started paying attention to what they were doing.

The thing that separates Bloodywood from the thousand other metal bands trying to incorporate folk elements is that they actually commit to it. They use the flute and dhol as primary instruments, not as novelty decorations. Raoul handles the traditional flute work while also being the band's rapper, which sounds like it shouldn't work but does. The dhol isn't buried in the mix to add texture during breakdowns. It drives entire sections of songs.

They dropped their first original track "Ari Ari" in 2018, which was less parody and more pointed. The song went directly at rape culture in India over a mixture of death metal riffs and folk metal grooves. This set the template for what the band would become: heavy music that talks about actual problems without the vague, mythological metaphors that a lot of metal hides behind. "Jee Veerey" followed and made it clear they weren't going back to doing Backstreet Boys covers.

Their 2022 debut album "Rakshak" arrived after years of singles and EPs. By then, they had a functioning international fanbase built almost entirely through YouTube and word of mouth. The album tackles casteism, poverty, corruption, and environmental destruction. "Gaddaar" is probably their most streamed track, a five-minute attack on systemic oppression that somehow also makes you want to move. "Zanjeero Se" is another standout, built around call-and-response vocals that feel designed for festival crowds.

The production on "Rakshak" is surprisingly clean for a band that could have leaned into lo-fi aggression. They recorded with Judas Priest's producer, which tells you something about their ambitions. The album doesn't sound like a regional band trying to break out. It sounds like a band that already broke out and is now settling into what they do.

Bloodywood tours internationally now, which seemed unlikely when they were a bedroom project making joke covers. They've played Wacken and Bloodstock, the kind of festivals where you prove you're not a gimmick. The folk metal tag gets thrown at them constantly, but they have more in common with rap metal bands than with Finntroll or Eluveitie. The folk elements are there because that's their actual background, not because they're trying to sound exotic.

They're working on new material now, still based in New Delhi, still writing about things that matter in places that don't get covered much in heavy music.

Their shows are controlled chaos. Mosh pits form immediately. Aman Bharti moves like he's fighting the music rather than performing it. The production is raw and loud enough to feel threatening. Crowd goes feral when the drops hit.

Known for Yaad, Machi Bhasad, Teri Maa, Chaleya, Gaand Phaad De

See Bloodywood Live