Bloodywood are an up-and-coming metal band out of India, where they first made a name for themselves with heavy covers of Bollywood songs and a viral rendition of Linkin Park’s “Heavy.” Now, they’re creating their own original music, and are earning acclaim for their socially-conscious music and high-energy live performances,
The band made its US live debut in September at Louisville’s Louder Than Life festival, where Heavy Consequence caught up with co-vocalists Jayant Bhadula and Raoul Kerr shortly after they got off stage.
As Bhadula told us in the video interview above, the band wasn’t quite prepared for the rousing reception they got from their first American crowd as they prepared to hit the stage. “We were just standing on the side, and this huge amount of people were just chanting ‘Bloodywood,’ and we were like, ‘Oh, this is getting real really fast.'” Kerr added, “When you see support like that we have no choice but to go from zero to a hundred very quickly.”
In discussing the band’s evolution from metal parody act to legit original band, Bhadula told us, “We could’ve just made original music and put it on the internet, but who’s going to [randomly] say, ‘I’m gonna listen to a band from India.” Instead the group grew its fan base with fun cover songs.
With the release of their debut album, Rakshak, earlier this year, Bloodywood proved that they are a true metal band, delivering thought-provoking original music. As for their unique sound, Bhadula quipped, “I’ll summarize it: It’s metal tikka masala.”
Kerr added that their music is more about a feeling than a particular sound. “Rakshak in Hindi means protector or guardian. One of the things that inspires our music is the belief that music can be the difference-maker in the world. … We’re doing it with the belief that music can convey emotion and make people feel enough to do something about it.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Bhadula and Kerr also spoke about the metal scene in India, the various social and charitable cause they support, and more. Watch the full interview in the video above.
Trouble viewing the video interview in the player above? Watch on YouTube.