Picture the scene if you will. Out the back of a sweaty, packed metal venue and System of a Down, Rage Against the Machine, and Gojira are having an almighty tear up. A chaotic, sweaty, riff-fuelled rager in a back alley. And just when you thought it was over, they grabbed a meaty, bone rattling chorus, smacked you in the chops, and threw you into the pit. That’s Nu Delhi, the second album from India’s loudest, proudest, and most unapologetically ambitious metal export, Bloodywood.
From the gutteral, soul thundering, opening riff of Halla Bol, you can practically feel the earth shake. Jayant Bhadula’s vocals sound like he gargles TCP and spits bars filled with thumb tacks for fun, while Raoul Kerr spits politically charged bars with the intensity of a man who’s just found out he’s lost a winning lottery ticket. But the foundation stone supporting their metal mastery is the unmistakable heartbeat of India – flutes, sitars, and dhols more at home than Elmer Fudd is in wabbit season.
Our favourite track on the album is Hutt – a battle cry. It’s the kind of track that makes you feel unstoppable, even if you’re just sitting in traffic. The groove hits like a battering ram through the gates of your comfort zone and; it’s a six-limbed beatdown that grabs you by the ears and grips your soul by the throat as Kerr’s rap sections spit venom over the top of this juggernaut of a track.
Bloodywood’s superpower has always been their ability to fuse nu-metal’s bounce, groove metal’s weight, and traditional Indian sounds into something that sounds like it always belonged. Nu Delhi builds on what made Rakshak such a ridiculous breakout success, but this time they’ve honed their sound, ironed out the kinks, cranked the volume, and thrown even more surprises into the mix.
Take Bekhauf, featuring none other than BABYMETAL for trilingual chaos – Hindi, Japanese, and English smashing together in a pit that is equal parts brutal and bizarrely danceable. It shouldn’t work, but it absolutely does.
And then there’s Kismat, which is as close to a breather as you’re going to get. This one leans more into melody, with an emotional weight that hits harder than an unexpected Connor McGregor right hook on an unsuspecting regular in an Irish boozer. But just when you think things are cooling down, Tadka bursts in with a riff so spicy it should come with a triple chilli health warning.
Lyrically, Bloodywood remain as unfiltered as ever. They rage against oppression, call out corruption, and celebrate resilience, but never in a way that feels forced. This isn’t “woke” metal – it’s real metal. Music with a message.
It’s only eight tracks long, which is borderline criminal considering how much firepower they’ve got. But if the biggest complaint about an album is that you desperately want more of it, that says it all, doesn’t it?
Bhangra-fied brutality at its absolute best.
8.5/10
Standout Tracks: Hutt, Nu Delhi, Bekhauf
For Fans Of: System of a Down, BABYMETAL, Gojira
Written by: Eric Mackinnon
