L-R: Jayant Bhadula, Karan Katiyar, Raoul Kerr
Bloodywood
is a Folk Nu Metal band from New Delhi, India, formed in 2016 by multi-instrumentalist Karan Katiyar and vocalist Jayant Bhadula. They later rounded out their permanent lineup with the addition of rapper Raoul Kerr. The band sings in a mixture of Hindi, Punjabi, and English.Katiyar, originally a corporate lawyer, got his start making parodic metal covers of Filmi Music for YouTube before meeting Bhadula at a gig. They recorded an album of covers together, Anti-Pop Vol. 1, and began to gain a following, and in 2018, their cover of the Bombay Rockers folk-rock song "Ari Ari" featuring Kerr was shared by Bollywood actress Ileana D'Cruz on social media. The positive reception led to them deciding to write original material, leading to a gig at Wacken Open Air in 2019, and their first all-original album Rakshak in 2022.
Members:
- Permanent:
- Karan Katiyar (2016-present) — guitars, flute, production, composition
- Jayant Bhadula (2016-present) — vocals, growls (mainly Hindi)
- Raoul Kerr (2019-present) — rap vocals (mainly English)
- Touring:
- Sarthak Pahwa — dhol
- Roshan Roy — bass
- Vishesh Singh — drums
Discography:
- Anti-Pop Vol. 1 (2017)
- Rakshak (2022)
This band's music and performances provide examples of the following tropes:
- Bilingual Bonus: If you aren't at least trilingual, you're not going to fully understand most of their songs. Fortunately their music videos are all subtitled in English (which is as much for domestic benefit as foreign: India has so many languages that English is frequently Indians' lingua franca).
- Boom, Headshot!: Referenced in "Dana Dan":Got you in my sights, motherfucker it's a headshot
- Content Warnings: The video to "Gaddaar" starts with a disclaimer advising viewers that the song pertains to politics though the band themselves maintain that they are politically neutral.
- “Dana Dan” starts with warnings for Flashing Lights, References to Violence, and References to Sexual Violence. It then starts with describing the beating of a rapist for his deeds.
- Cover Version: Like many bands, they got their start performing covers, in this case metal covers of Bollywood and pop songs. Anti-Pop Vol. 1 starts with "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi and ends with "Starboy" by The Weeknd, with everybody from Michael Jackson to Nirvana in between.
- Democracy Is Flawed: Downplayed. The band's native India is the world's largest democracy by population, and "Gaddaar" criticizes politicians who stoke ethnic and religious tensions to get votes but then enjoins listeners to "become the generation that breaks the camel's back"—i.e. India's democracy is flawed but still salvageable.
- Filmi Music: Katiyar, one of the members, used to do parodic metal covers of Filmi music songs.
- Free-Handed Performer: Jayant Bhadula and Raoul Kerr trade off vocal duties: Bhadula mainly provides Harsh Vocals in Hindi, while Kerr raps in English. The band's other permanent member Karan Katiyar plays mainly guitar and flute.
- Fun with Subtitles: From "Gaddaar", the subtitles helpfully supply the notation "[INDIAN SINGING INTENSIFIES]" during a guitar solo.
- Genre Mashup: The band's modern sound mashes up politically charged Nu Metal with hefty influence from Indian folk music.
- Genre Shift: They initially started as a cover band where they performed parodic metal covers of pop and Filmi showtunes, but as of Rakshak they have more or less shifted their focus on social issues through their songs.
- Harsh Vocals: Jayant Bhadula mostly performs melodeath-style screams.
- Precision F-Strike: They do these in multiple languages! One non-English example is in "Gadaar":Nikal gadaar! (Now get the fuck out, traitor!)
- Protest Song: Most of Rakshak's runtime consists of political protest music of one form or another: "Gaddaar" is targeted at political demagogues stoking ethnic and religious tensions to energize and radicalize their voting bases, while "Dana Dan" opposes India's pervasive problem with violence against women.
- Punny Name: The name of the band is a play on "Bollywood".
- Pun-Based Title:
- The band dubbed their first US tour the "Nine Inch Naans Tour" (naan being a type of Indian flatbread).
- Another tour would be Raj Against the Machine.
- Road Apples: Jayant steps in a freshly laid animal crap (probably either from a cow or an elephant) during the intro to the video for "Gaddaar", a song about the band's opinion of politicians who stoke ethnic and religious tensions to get votes.
- Wife-Basher Basher: "Dana Dan" is about kicking the asses of rapists and domestic abusers, both of which are a huge problem in the group's homeland of India.I raise a fist for the nameless faces he disgraces
Raise a fist for the nameless faces he disgraces
And yeah, one day I may change his kind with my mind
One day I may change his kind
But until then
De dana dan (Bring the beatdown)
De dana dan (Bring the beatdown)
De dana dan (Bring the beatdown)
De dana dan (Bring the beatdown)
