Every part of the metal scene plays with the idea of being an outsider, so when we’re confronted with a voice that comes from a different race, continent and culture than we’re accustomed to, we embrace it into a bear hug. New Delhi’s own Bloodywood have taken on the globe since their 2022 self-released debut, and here on their label debut, ‘Nu Delhi’, they’re still fearlessly flying their own flag painted in colours previously unseen in the heavy music world. The label of ‘folk-metal’ that was loosely plastered to them a couple of years ago isn’t really sticking any more. This is the album that goes bigger than single adjectives or hyphenated descriptors can really encompass.
It’s not like they’ve hidden their stadium and stereotype-busting ambitions from us; you just have to love the pride that beams from every second of this ‘Nu Delhi’. Bloodywood could easily have relied on lazy references to well known symbols, or watered down their culture for an international palate in the same way a restaurant puts the bland dishes on the English menu. They have taken the opposite approach, presenting themselves as fully and vibrantly as possible in a ‘love it or leave it’ manner by blending absolute bangers with a sense of self that you’re forced to appreciate. Opening track ‘Halla Bol’ smashes any mystic east energy on the intro with the most brutal drop to hit a track this year, swerving between fist pounding Hindi chant outs from Jayant Bhadula and vicious hip hop from Raoul Kerr. The dual vocalist trope feels basically mandatory for metal bands at this point, but as a metaphor for cultural exchange and a multilayered storytelling mechanism, it feels so vital to the Bloodywood sound. Just listen to single drop ‘Nu Delhi’ – Bhadula’s gloriously cinematic Hindi teams with Kerr’s dirty hooks to light up both sides of their hometown.
Both Bloodywood and BABYMETAL have had to fight to rise above being seen as token acts, but that’s where you’d think the similarities between the bearded band with their tough guy stance and the petite, costumed worshippers of the Fox Spirit end. Collaborating on ‘Bekhauf’ shouldn’t work but it really does, both bands playing into fast paced maximalism with quick fire lyrics, and Su-Metal’s vocals adding a missing sweetness. Blending the unexpected is quickly becoming the Bloodywood trademark.
They’ve been upfront about tackling serious themes across the board since their inception, from using religion to sway voters to rape culture and the importance of good mental health. ‘Halla Bol’ takes on the idea of journalistic independence, followed immediately by ‘Hutt’ with its message of overcoming haters via stomping beats and sweeping samples. Simply put, it’s a song to make you raise your fist in time to the sky. But just when we’re starting to think of them as a political powerhouse, they chuck in a song like ‘Tadka’. Saying it’s a song about curry (“The food’s so good, man, I’ve got to share,” exclaims Kerr halfway through) doesn’t sum up how much pit potential is in the rhythm, and how little we’re going to care it’s named after a cooking technique when the chorus drops.
‘Nu Delhi’ is an album where every song could be a single. Any potential criticism you could have of an album where all eight songs are very fast and very hard are dismissed as quickly as Kerr spits bars. It’s not overwhelming, shallow or homogenous in the songs it offers, holding your interest and accelerating your heartbeat at every turn. No one could have predicted that traditional Indian rhythm would have blended so perfectly into metal, but even more astounding is the verve and power with which Bloodywood have brought it all together on ‘Nu Delhi’.
KATE ALLVEY