Bloodywood

Bloodywood is an Indian metal band with a distinctive style that blends rap and traditional local idioms. Formed in New Delhi in 2016, the trio includes guitarist, composer and producer Karan Katiyar, singer Jayant Bhadula and rapper Raoul Kerr. Originally a parody project specializing in covers of Bollywood hits shared by Karan Katiyar on social networks, Bloodywood evolved into metal with the arrival of Jayant Bhadular and a first album of covers entitled Anti Pop, Vol. 1 in 2017. Other offbeat versions of hits followed, culminating in the involvement of rapper Raoul Kerr, and a new style emerged with the 2018 cover of "Ari Ari", popularized by the band Bombay Rockers and actress Ileana D'Cruz in India. That same year, the original track "Jee Veerey" was written for the Hole Therapy website, dedicated to fighting mental illness and depression. After an appearance at Germany's Wacken Open Air festival in 2019 and a track composed for the Beyond Good and Evil 2 video game, "Machi Bhasad (Expect a Riot)", the trio set to work on a second album, this time made up entirely of original metal tracks. Released in 2022, it was entitled Rakshak and included such iconic singles as "Gaddaar" and "Dana-Dan" . It was also the first Indian metal album to penetrate the US Billboard charts, reaching number 95. Two years later, the band signed with Fearless Records for the release of the single "Nu Delhi", which gave its title to the third album, released in 2025 and featuring the participation of Babymetal on "Bekhauf".