Bloodywood - Rakshak (2022)^{Release ID: 34795}

A simple interesting experiment can sometimes lead to great success. Indian nu/rap metal band Bloodywood started as a cover band performing Bollywood hits. Then when Linkin Park released their first single from their pop-rock final album One More Light, "Heavy", the negativity that single received inspired Bloodywood to make a metal cover of it, considered "what Linkin Park's Heavy should have sounded like". Spawning international popularity as a result, Bloodywood recorded some more covers for their first release Anti-Pop Vol. 1. Fast forward 5 years, the band made their first original album Rakshak, a wild blend of revived nu metal with Indian classical music.

Anyone can appreciate any band by going to their live shows, but I can appreciate them as well at home by experiencing the full beauty of their music from the original studio recording. Rakshak certainly grants me that magic. Their formula of heavy groove-ish nu metal can entertain you when they add in their native influences. So if there's ever a Bollywood movie centered around a metal band, you know what you might expect in its soundtrack!

Feast your ears on the explosive "Gaddaar" (Traitor), a 5-minute metal monster of riffing and percussion worth partying to. The dynamic impact will bring life to the crowd in concerts, especially in breakdowns. "Aaj" (Today) follows with some EDM-gone-metal similar to Korn's The Path of Totality, albeit with mystical Indian flutes and more poppy hooks. There's no doubt at all that you'll enjoy "Zanjeero Se" (These Chains) and its Linkin Park-like emotion to break away from their more hardcore side occurring later on... The ravaging "Machi Bhasad" (Expect a Riot) is my favorite here. A friend of mine showed me that song, which got me into checking this album out. I gotta thank him for that!

"Dana Dan" (Give a Beatdown) takes on rap metal's earlier days with a modern technical spin. The band shall not be responsible for anyone getting injured when playing this song in live shows. Having a more traditional melody, "Jee Veerey" (Live Brave One) knocks off the heaviness a bit. Though they bring it back in the anthemic "Endurant".

"BSDK.exe" has more of a slam-deathcore vibe blended with trap beats that turns this party demonic. "Yaad" (In Memory) bites down with excellent emotion, though they're kind of behind on the punch some of the other songs have. Saving the album's grace is the noisy closing track "Chakh Le" (Rise Up). Once again, the modern metal revolution has allowed those Bollywood elements up in the front.

Although Alien Weaponry is my go-to band for blending modern metal with native influences, Bloodywood has displayed their own Indian nu/rap metal sound that shall make great history in the metal community. So how about that? Add your country's sounds to metal and watch the magic happen....

Favorites: "Gaddaar", "Zanjeero Se", "Machi Bhasad", "Endurant", "Chakh Le"

This record is highly conflicting for me. On one hand, I can certainly hear the appeal and excitement coming out of this Indian nu metal act. With plenty of experience hearing oriental music in both progressive and black metal spheres, I really enjoy the specific Indian musical timbres of the flutes, sitars and various percussion. It gives this group more than enough unique qualities to stand out from any number of nu metal acts from the late 90s/early 2000s as well as the queue line of disposable acts in the modern age. I also really enjoy how these tones are used over a more traditional pop song structure instead of resorting to elongated forms of more dense subgenres. I could see this record serving as a bridging point from mainstream alternative metalcore to folk metal and later on, black metal.

On the other hand, this album can get pretty cringy at times. I think the most blatant is the rap vocals that are usually performed in English instead of the traditional Hindi that is explored throughout the albums choruses. Many of the punchlines are really embarrassing if I'm being honest. Actually, now that I think about it, the vocal performances all around are not very impressive. The main vocals sound like Slipknot's Corey Taylor as they float in and out between harsh singing and the occasional screaming. The rap vocals are more spoken than Slipknot, but that allows for the vocals to be pronounced and focused on, which as mentioned before, is not necessarily a good thing. Otherwise, the mixing runs quite flat as the bass is given next to no focus. The guitars are so bloated and blocky that nothing else is allowed to breathe.

I can tell that this record is not meant for me, even as I found myself trying to vibe with it. Maybe back in the day before I dug into the rabbit hole of folk metal I may have this more enjoyable. In the modern day, the production is lousy and the English vocals are actively distracting. Still, the usage of Indian folk instrumentation and compositions are fresh and unique. I would still recommend it just for the novelty of it all, but I hope other conventional metal bands from around the world take notes from this in the future. 

Best Songs: Zanjeero Se, Jee Veerey, Yaad