Bloodywood is India’s first metal band to collaborate with Japanese kawaii metal band Babymetal-OxBig News Network

Bloodywood (L-R) Vishesh Singh, Roshan Roy, Jayant Bhadula, Raoul Kerr, Karan Katiyar and Sarthak Pahwa
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

There is a method to all the madness about metal music, and folk-metal band Bloodywood has cracked it.

With two albums under its belt, the recent one being Nu Delhi, this is the first Indian band to have collaborated with Japanese kawaii metal band Babymetal. Comprising Suzuka Nakamoto, Moa Kikuchi and Momoko Okazaki, Babymetal blends elements of heavy metal and J-pop, which is the essence of kawaii metal — a musical genre that was pioneered in Japan in the early 2010s.

“The song that we worked on with Babymetal features on our new album. Babymetal’s producer attended our concert in Tokyo in 2023 and gave us the brand’s merchandise, but we got talking to them while writing ‘Bekhauf’ in 2024. I think, we manifested it,” says Jayant Bhadula, who is assigned to vocals and growls of the three-piece band. Its other two key members are Karan Katiyar on guitars, flute, production and composition and Raoul Kerr on rap vocals. On tours, they are joined by Sarthak Pahwa on the dhol, Roshan Roy on the bass and Vishesh Singh on the drums.

Bloodywood – Live in Amsterdam in 2025
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

“Karan, when listening to ‘Bekhauf’, suggested that the song would sound better with Babymetal on vocals. Within two-three days, we received a serendipitous message from the band’s producer and instantly sent them the project. The curation of the composition was followed up on e-mails, and their Japanese vocals were later mounted on the song,” shares Jayant.

Known for its compelling lyrics, Bloodywood, which started out as a parody band in 2016 and rose to the front burner of fame in 2018 with the success of singles like ‘Ari Ari’ and ‘Jee Veerey’, was nominated for the Breakthrough Asian Band title at the 2021 Global Metal Apocalypse awards, finishing second. Its first album Rakshak was released in 2022.

The 10-track album is known for sensitive lyrical narratives, the subjects of which swing between addressing mental-health issues (‘Jee Veerey’), bullying (‘Endurant’), and a commentary on the politics of hate (‘Gaddaar’). Its new album too stands testimony to the band’s creative arch — that of creating conscious content. The eight-track album features songs like ‘Halla Bol’, which brings to mind the eponymous play by Safdar Hashmi, a pioneering figure in Indian street theatre, but Raoul explains: “We wrote this from the Indian perspective having survived Colonialism, for people all over the world who have survived oppression of any kind. It’s a testament to their resilience. It’s about drawing on that knowledge and experience of how power can be abused and using it to break the cycle of oppression forever, rather than becoming the next chapter.”

Bloodywood’s Raoul at Bandland 2024
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Special arrangement

Another compelling track, ‘Daggebaaz’, from the album takes a jibe at ‘Plastic Influencers’. “Plastic Influencers who rely on the superficial sides of life are annoying. It takes skill to get people to follow you; we see a lot of these people using their skills for the wrong reasons and abusing the trust they manage to manufacture. It’s also about calling people out for this gullibility because that’s what gives these influencers power. The culture of idol worship and the tendency to blindly follow is something that needs to die fast so we’re helping put one of the nails in the coffin,” says Raoul.

When asked to list his top picks from the album, Jayant points at ‘Nu Delhi’ (the title track), which he says is a love letter to Delhi, the city the band was formed in; ‘Kismat’, which is about kids who had to grow up too fast because of the life’s circumstances; and ‘Bekhauf’, which is about unlocking and overcoming our fears. “Interestingly, most metal music is characterised by profound lyrics; take, for instance, ‘Rage Against The Machine’. But then, the genre also has ‘Pizza Thrash’!” laughs Jayant.

Jayant (centre) of Bloodywood at the band’s concert in Paris
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

The band started working on Nu Delhi in 2023 during its performance in Chicago and recorded the tracks in Noida at Karan’s home, where the band’s studio is. The album art has been created by Anirudh Shekhawat, says Jayant. “The album has been released by Fearless Records, an American independent record label, which is looking after the distribution and production of vinyls and CDs. Besides the general instruments you find in metal bands, the ethnic Indian instruments used were dhol, sarangi, tumbi, esraj, harmonium, and many regional percussive instruments. Also, the recording software includes RME Interface, sE mics, Ibanez guitars, Adam Monitors and Line6 guitar processors,” says Jayant.

Members of Bloodywood pose with the vinyl of their new album Nu Delhi
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

He leaves us with the news of the band’s next collaboration with Babymetal. “The song is called ‘Kon! kon!’ and it will be featured on Babymetal’s upcoming album called Metal Forth, which is set to release on June 27. It has collaborations with artists like Tom Morello, Poppy, Electric Callboy, Slaughter to Prevail, Spiritbox and more,” informs Jayant.

Till then, mosh on, metalheads!

The album Nu Delhiis now streaming on all online music platforms and its CDs (₹1,400) and vinyl records (₹2,700) are available on bloodywood-official.myshopify.com.