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Metal has never been more diverse and inclusive as in 2025, and at the forefront of those ushering in a new era are BLOODYWOOD, an Indian heavy metal band comprised of three friends from New Delhi (Karan Katiyar, Jayant Bhadula and Raoul Kerr). Since 2017, the threesome have slowly evolved and honed their craft as musicians, evolving from releasing metal covers of artists like NIRVANA and ARIANA GRANDE to debuting original Indian folk-metal focused singles alongside the likes of BONDE DO METALEIRO and BABYMETAL. BLOODYWOOD‘s unique style has caught the eye and attention of many, landing them a slot at Download Festival in 2023 which kicked off an intense two years of non-stop touring. Now halfway through their Return Of The Singh tour, we sat down with vocalist Jayant to discuss the state of the scene and their upcoming new album.
The tour so far has been a resounding success, with sold-out shows across the UK and Europe. Jayant couldn’t hide his excitement. “One thing I really want to put out there is, UK showed the fuck up! I mean, the shows have been sold out for more than a month now in the UK specifically.” He recalls, “back in 2023, our biggest show was London, that was the biggest show we have ever did like, a headline one, that was The Electric Ballroom and now we get to do Kentish Town, which is, again, sold out already. So, I mean, UK has showed the fuck up!”
The energy from the crowds across Europe has been electric, with fans even singing along to songs written in Hindi, a language foreign to the vast majority of the audience. “… during [the] performance, I keep taking my IM off so I can hear what’s happening with the crowd and it’s VERY loud. Cologne stands out a little bit because the people, they were CRAZY from the start to the end, the energy was 100 throughout,” Jayant reminisces. When comparing the differences between audiences in India and abroad, he emphasised the universality of metalheads. “I understand there’s a curiosity about, what’s the scene like that over there in India, but apart from the metalheads in India being very less in comparison to the other places that we go, generally, be it Europe or US, apart from that, the energy remains the same. No matter what size room we’re playing, either be it a festival or whatever, the energy remains the same, which is very unique to see on its own, because, again, you’re on different sides of the world, and you get to compare how the audience is, how the supporters are responding, and it’s same, and the energy remains the same so that that’s very interesting to see.”
BLOODYWOOD’s live performances are designed to be a rollercoaster of emotions and to take you on a wild journey when you’re in the room with them, both the highs and the lows. “The songs and the topics that we talk about in our songs, either we’ve gone through it or we have people around us who’ve gone through it.” Some of the heavier topics addressed in their lyrics include mental health, empowerment, and topical social issues, but the guys focus on bringing fun and flair to their shows. “The BLOODYWOOD experience, on its own, is very wholesome because of the topics that we go through with the songs and with the live performances and we try to keep things lively, in general, a little funny, or, you know, you can go back home [and] basically have a complete experience of emotions with us,” Jayant explains.
Not ones to shy away from heavy sounds or heavy topics, BLOODYWOOD have demonstrated their principles from day one. Their first original single, Jee Veerey, was inspired by the loss of a fellow Delhi musician to depression. “We had a conversation about it, me and Karan, at that time that, we can’t just sing about it. I don’t think there is something that we can do and that felt like a position of weakness to me, but then Karan came up with an idea” – with only 60,000 Indian rupees in their band’s bank account, the guys drained their funds and sponsored 60 counselling sessions that they gave out to the people.
Jayant stops for a moment and recalls thinking “Oh, wow, that’s scary!” but by taking that one step further beyond honouring their friend in music, it inspired something beautiful in the community. “People who are actually using these to get that anonymous one free counselling session would actually bankroll the thing from their end, so that people could, you know, just keep going on.” The band’s commitment to giving back even extends beyond mental health, whether that was using earnings from their 2019 tour to buy a van for a fellow Delhi band, whose bus was falling apart, or caring for the strays that roam Delhi’s streets. “Honestly, I have made so many friends – and I am talking about street dogs at this point – at different places”, admitting that he now keeps two packs of dog biscuits with him, just in case!
BLOODYWOOD’s influences are of course not limited to their origins in India, citing RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, MESHUGGAH, LAMB OF GOD, SUICIDE SILENCE and SLIPKNOT as overarching sources of inspiration. More recently, Jayant has been listening to the new releases from BRING ME THE HORIZON, ARCHITECTS, SPIRITBOX: “and actually, I just discovered like, two days back properly CALVA LOUISE‘s music!”, praising front woman Jess’ commitment to her craft, bringing her PC on tour to edit music videos during the day and rock out on stage at night.
At the time of interview, the guys were gearing up to release their latest album, the ever-punny Nu Delhi. One of BLOODYWOOD’s most notable collaborations is with BABYMETAL on the single Bekhauf. “The instrumentals for the song were already done. Me and Rahul and Karan, we were just throwing ideas back and forth in terms of vocals. And again, it’s manifestation of what -I don’t know- but, the producer for BABYMETAL, he actually reached out to Karan on Instagram around the same time saying, like ‘hey, we should do something together’ and we were like ‘hey, you know what? We’ve got the perfect song for you’. And after that, it was a smooth sailing ship, like everything just went into place very quickly,” Jayant exclaims.
BABYMETAL and BLOODYWOOD are arguably some of the biggest names in Asian metal at the minute, and that spotlight on representing their culture is not lost on them. “Our side of the world does not really have that much of the metal influences, so when your market is already a niche within a niche your challenge is just making it on yourself in your own countries. We just had a dream that we want to make a metal band and just, you know, be the best in the world, be the next METALLICA, like every other third person who’s doing music in general. But when the scale of things started increasing for us, that’s when the sense of responsibility also hits because we’re not just a band anymore, we’re representing an entire nation of 1.4 billion people, a country that does have metal bands, but people do not know,” Jayant elaborates.
As BLOODYWOOD continues to rise, their mission remains clear: to create music that both represents their own culture and flair but that also unites metalheads across the globe and gives them a release. With the release of Nu Delhi, the Delhi-born boys aim to further cement their place as pioneers of Indian folk-metal and ambassadors of South Asian culture in the global metal scene. “We’re just getting started,” Jayant concluded with a smile – and if their current trajectory is anything to go by, the world better be ready for what’s next.
Nu Delhi is out now via Fearless Records. View this interview, alongside dozens of other killer bands, in glorious print magazine fashion in DS119 here:
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