Review by Saxy S for Bloodywood - Rakshak (2022)

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