BLOODYWOOD — Rakshak (review)

Album · 2022 · Nu Metal

4/5 · 2022-02-28
siLLy puPPy

Seems like India is finally coming of age in the world of metal music with some excellent bands emerging from this second most populous nation on the planet therefore the potential is limitless in what to expect however for the most part Indian metal acts have been staunchly emulating their Western idols instead of incorporating their homegrown folk music into the tapestry. Well all that’s changing and the New Delhi act BLOODYWOOD has emerged to add a bit of Bengali folk to its saucy mix of nu metal, rap metal and metalcore.

This band features only three members: Jayant Bhadula / Vocals, Raoul Kerr / Rap Vocals and Karan Katiyar / Guitars, Flutes but these guys have a full sound for sure. This band actually started out as nothing more than a parody band that uploaded metal versions of pop songs onto YouTube but as after a few years these guys got the creative bug and started to craft their own musical style having realized the untapped potential of fusing Indian folk sounds with the 21st century bombast of slickly produced extreme metal. The band sites 90s bands like Linkin Park, Rage Against The Machine, System of a Down, Alter Bridge and Limp Bizkit as the main musical influences and indeed these bands’ styles are present in BLOODYWOOD’s music.

BLOODYWOOD released an album of metal versions of pop covers in 2017 on an album titled “Anti-Pop Vol 1” but finally in 2022 the band releases its true debut album RAKSHAK (रक्षक in Hindi script and means “protector”) of all original material and i have to say that this band’s version of nu metal blows away some of the influences that inspired it! This album features ten knockout tracks that add up to 47 minutes of your life. It’s hard to categorize this music because it takes the basic alternative metal heft of a band like System of a Down only often delivered in a more intense metalcore ferocity but includes sections of rap metal that evoke classic Rage Against The Machine and nu metal styles courtesy of Linkin Park, Korn and Limp Bizkit. Add the super catchy sounds of Benglai folk music, you know the kind of catchy Indian music heard in Bollywood soundtracks and even a touch of Western folk metal and you have a recipe for a very catchy nu metal fusion that keeps the oft derided metal subgenre relevant in the 21st century.

While nu metal is hardly my main forte of music, i do like the genre when done correctly but bands like Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit despite having their moments have always failed to deliver an entire album’s worth of creative bliss and that’s exactly what BLOODYWOOD delivers on RAKSHAK! This is super catchy stuff that avoids the kitschiest moments of nu metal and focuses on the strengths which involves intensely loud yet catchy guitar riffs, alternating rapped and screamed lyrics which happen to be in not only English but also Hindi and Punjabi. The band isn’t just a bunch of pretty faces either and lyrically focuses on political issues and other biting subject matter. The guitar riffs are crunchy and loud as fuck while the melodic Bengali folk sounds add a pacifying timelessness to the mix. The addition of piano rolls and clean vocal melodic emotive tugs mixed with rapped lyrics clearly come from the Linkin Park playbook but actually i think these guys succeed better in crafting an entire album’s worth of interesting material.

True this one won’t lure in the nu metal haters but for those with an open mind of fusion metal where the metal parts are merely a significant ingredient to making an ethnic folk style of music more energetic along with hip hop styles in somewhat of a Bollywood production style, then you can’t go wrong with this one. There’s not a single track that stagnates and BLOODYWOOD even adds moments of choral music and other surprises throughout the album which insures that it doesn’t end up becoming a parody of itself. I’ve always loved Indian music and to hear it in tandem with the best parts of nu metal, rap metal and metalcore is really a treat. This band has become somewhat of a thing in its homeland and judging from this album i can understand why. As the mixing of melding of global musical styles continue to hybridize, this will surely catch on across the globe since it’s so catchy and instantly lovable.