Although music lovers have welcomed genres like jazz, blues, and pop, metalheads are relatively unknown in India. Karan Katiyar, Jayant Bhadula, and Raoul Kerr of the Indian metal band, Bloodywood, the first Indian metal band to break into the Billboard charts, have taken it upon themselves to turn things around. “In a country of nearly 145 crore people, metalheads amount to roughly 10,000. We, the musicians who practise metal, therefore always support each other. There were times when our shows in India used to attract hardly 50-100 people. But it is slowly changing. Now we can expect atleast five times that number at a concert.”
Influenced by the Californian band Linkin Park, the band started its journey in 2016. Till date, it has released three musical albums—Volume 1, Rakshak, and Nu Delhi. Their latest, Nu Delhi, is a tribute to the city where they grew up, and is a fusion of both metal and multiple Indian folk elements like Bhangra. “The word ‘Nu’ suggests a fusion of multiple elements. It sits perfectly with Delhi as the city is also a mixture of many people and cultures, and more. Besides, fusion has been our go-to thing from the very beginning. In one of our earlier covers of Panjabi MC’s famous song, ‘Mundian To Bach Ke’, we used dhol with guitar, which the audience loved. So in this album, we not only amalgamated multiple genres, but also represented Delhi’s mixed character,” says Kerr, the band’s vocalist.
The Delhi chronicles
If anything other than Linkin Park brought the band members together, then that is the city of Delhi. “We grew up in the city, and it contributed a lot to who we are today. Hence, we decided to pay our homage to the city. It is a city of hearts, it is a city of resilience,” says Kerr.
All the eight songs from the new album are hard-hitting, realistic, and showcase the tremendous resilience of the human self. The title song, ‘Nu Delhi’, talks about the “wildness” of the city, where everyone has to compete and fight hard to earn their place here. “Delhi is wild, Delhi is crazy. But its big heart will only shower love if you get over the initial challenges that the city throws at you. So you need to stand on your feet and show it some respect. It makes you who you are,” says Kerr.
The other songs of the album also talk about local and universal human problems. “The song ‘Halla Bol’ explores the resilience of those who have endured colonialism and, more broadly, those who have triumphed over all kinds of oppression. In ‘Dagebaaz’, we highlight how powerful people manipulate the powerless, and despite that, the latter rally behind them. So we are talking about a problem that exists worldwide and what we know from our experience.”
The album also introspects the deep relationship human beings have with basic needs like food. In its song, ‘Tadka’, the band sings—‘Nana always said, if you wanna make it big/ you better be fully fed/ so, I always did.’ “Food is an essential part of human existence, and Delhi food is special. It makes you strong and prepares you for further challenges. So, why not a song on that?” notes Kerr.
Then and now
Although the band has come a long way since 2016 with multiple albums hitting the charts, Kerr remembers the early days. “The band was founded by Katiyar (guitarist) and Bhadula (vocalist), who met each other at an event. I joined two years later as a rapper and vocalist. At that point, I was looking for someone to shoot my music video. Together we worked on our track ‘Ari Ari’ which was loved by the audience,” recalls Kerr.
In its earlier days, the band used to make a lot of metal parodies of popular songs. It was its way to make the listeners associate with a different genre of music. “We made many parodies like Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape Of You’ or American singer or rapper Post Malone’s song ‘Rockstar’. If someone hears those songs, they will not feel that those are purely metal. However, they will have fun listening to those that we composed. It was also a way to make them aware of the music that we wanted to produce,” Kerr adds.