With A Touch Of Fusion, 'Bloodywood' Makes Room For Indian Metal Around The World & Is Certainly Here To Stay
Bloodywood is a metal band from New Delhi that includes members named Jayant Bhadula, Karan Katiyar, and others and mixes fusion with metal.
Back in the 1960s and 1970s, the heavy metal genre emerged, changing the rock genre forever. While the British may have started this very serious genre, it has spread all over the world like wildfire since then.From Led Zepplin to Lamb of God, cult metal fans definitely know the importance of this genre and could vouch for its impact on music.
This genre did find its way to India as well. From Bhayanak Maut to Gutslit, the heavy metal genre surely secured its own fanbase, which still worships the genre even after decades. Despite several efforts, however, the genre gradually faded away in the country, with no prominent heavy metal band receiving the recognition it deserves... until now.
New-Delhi-based Bloodywood, which originally was a YouTube channel, has emerged as the country's top heavy metal band in modern times. The reason this band has exploded not only in India but also globally is only because it brings a whole new flavour to the typical heavy metal genre with its own kind of fusion. The band originally emerged with vocalists Jayant Bhadula and Raoul Kerr at the centre and guitarist/flautist/producer Karan Katiyar. Then the band added some dhol by Sarthak Pahwa, drums by Vishesh Singh, and bass by Roshan Roy.
The band, which has mixed Indian flavours with a world-renowned genre of metal, also became the first Indian metal band to break into the Billboard charts with their debut album, Rakshak. After the release of the album back in February this year, it debuted at number 93 on the Billboard Top Album Sales chart and at number 46 on the Top Current Album Sales chart.
But that is not the only accomplishment the band has achieved. It is just getting started. Bloodywood has already secured a global fanbase and has already performed at the top metal and rock festivals across the world.
So, we got in touch with the band and understood how this Indian metal band has made sure to make a mark when the genre is fading in the country. When asked who started the band and what inspired them, Jayant says it was "him and Karan" who came up with the idea. Their idea was to make metal parodies of pop songs to build an audience and then move on to releasing original music.
What originally started as a metal parody became a full-fledged six-member band. So, Jayant told the story about meeting and uniting the rest of the members. "Karan met Raoul when they worked on Raoul's debut music video together. They became friends and made plans to collaborate. The first collaboration a remix of Ari Ari which went viral across the world, Raoul's been a member of the band ever since. Roshan, Vishesh and Sarthak had played in bands with Karan and Jayant over the years, they were natural choices when it was time to start performing live."
That being said, what was the recipe to make Rakshak a global phenomenon? For this, a modest Jayant added, "Aggressive evolution and constant experimentation. We used a combination of our own inspirations and audience feedback to find our sound, and once we had it we decided that we shouldn't stagnate and continue evolving. So there's a recipe but a big part of it is open-ended."
But a debut album hitting the Billboard chart is just the beginning, to top that, the music-composing process needs to be top-notch. So, when it comes to writing and composing music, all band members must put in a lot of effort.
"The way that we go about it for the most part is that Karan creates and adds instrumental beats and then Jayant and Raoul add vocals. After that, we take a look at the track as a whole and make the changes that we feel are necessary. More often than not it results in some curve balls and fresh additions to the sound. Another important point is we often sit and listen to the instrumental once it's done and decide on the subject matter based on what the track is saying to us. The lyrics and message are a very important part of our music so this is a crucial step."
All this effort and hard work are bound to get the attention of fans, and it surely does grip the global audience. To maintain that, the band must create its own original sound. "We made our target the global audience and we knew we'd have to do something that will capture the imagination of the online audience if we wanted to go really big. The first part of that was finding our sound, the second was our music videos where we used the natural beauty and chaos of India to show the world something unique and different, and finally, it's about never stagnating, taking risks and constantly evolving."
The band has taken over some renowned stages, including Fuji Rock in Japan and Wacken Open Air in Germany. But the band feels that the passion and energy in the Indian audience, as well as the international ones, are just the same. "The size of the festivals and gigs abroad is bigger because there's a bigger audience for rock and metal there, but apart from that there's no difference."
Other than that, when it comes to inspiration, the band credits Linkin Park as a common interest. They also mention that, to be different from the rest, they initially relied on the power of the internet. "What helped us was that we relied on the internet rather than our immediate surroundings and that allowed us to break through on a global scale. It all started when we began fusing Punjabi music with metal and once we made our mark we never looked back."
For the up-and-coming metal bands emerging in India, the band members ask them to "focus on a combination of staying true to yourself as artists and listening to the audience. Keep your ambitions global. Make sure you can trust your bandmates with your life, and go the independent route for as long as you can. If we did it, so can you."
However, there is a lot more happening for this band in the future. They sure did give us a little peek into it. "We have our sights set on a second album. Before we get there though, we have a massive run that starts with shows in India at Lolapalooza, A headline tour of Europe in March, performances at a couple of festivals in the US in May (maybe more) and finally, we're going to spend June playing some of the biggest festivals on the planet across Europe."
Last but not least, the band is hopeful that the metal scene is just about to explode in India, and the recent Independence Rock Festival held in Mumbai was a good indication of that. Moreover, despite having a huge international fanbase, the band is glad to have supporters in India who have stuck by them since day one.
Here's hoping for 2023 to be the year of heavy metal.
Building, coordinating and crafting engaging content for lifestyle brand 'Evolve' at Indiatimes. Successfully revamping the lifestyle section including topics such as mental health, relationships, self, skin care, music etc. I collaborate with experts from various fields to gather insights and create well-structured pieces.
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