Indian folk-metal band Bloodywood recently broke new ground with their latest track Bekhauf, the music video for which was animated by Kolkata-born animator Debjyoti Saha’s Goppo Animation. Made in collaboration with Japanese metal sensation Babymetal, the song transcends borders and celebrates the union of two cultures.
As the band—with its unique fusion of Indian traditional music and heavy metal—prepares for Return of the Singh tour across Japan, UK and Europe, we take a look at their origin story and journey so far.
The rise of Bloodywood
Bloodywood —comprising Karan Katiyar, Jayant Bhadula and Raoul Kerr— had an unusual start to their music career. Before officially forming the band, Karan shared parody metal covers of cult-favourite Bollywood and English pop songs on YouTube but he was yet to find a vocalist. That changed when he met Jayant at a local gig and went on to record his vocals.
Rapper Raoul joined the band after he came in touch with Karan to create a lyric video for one of his songs. Impressed by his rap skills and powerful lyrics, Karan invited Raoul to work on a track with him, marking the official formation of the band in 2016.
After covering Linkin Park’s song Heavy in the band’s early nu-metal style in 2017 and creating a metal version of Daler Mehndi's Tunak Tunak Tun, Bloodywood released Ari Ari, a metal cover of Bombay Rockers’ Punjabi song. The track featured Raoul and caught the attention of Bollywood actress Ileana D’Cruz, who gushed over it on Instagram.
Bloodywood's 2022 song Jee Veerey from their debut album Rakshak—featuring Raoul's English rap verses, Karan's flute melodies and Jayant's powerful Punjabi vocals—resonated globally with its message on fighting depression and mental illness. Raoul dedicated the verses to Linkin Park’s former frontman Chester Bennington, whom he described as “the man who saved millions from drowning before being pulled under”. The tracks Aaj and Machi Bhasad also resonated with listeners with its themes of confronting inner demons, defiance and standing up against oppression.
Their impact on the global metal scene
Bloodywood took the metal community by storm soon after the release of their album Rakshak, garnering praise from popular YouTubers and metal icons alike. The band has toured extensively across Europe and the US, performing at major metal festivals such as the Wacken Open Air in Germany.
At the 2023 Download Festival in England, the band was part of a lineup that featured popular bands Slipknot, Parkway Drive, I Prevail, Behemoth and Lorna Shore. This year, Bloodywood’s song Dana Dan was featured during the climax scene in Dev Patel’s Monkey Man, further solidifying their place in the global metal scene.
New collab with Babymetal
A collaboration between Bloodywood and Babymetal, Bekhauf is a fusion of two unique subgenres —Indian folk-metal and Japanese kawaii-metal, which combines J-pop vocals with heavy metal instrumental. Spearheading the kawaii-metal scene in Japan, Babymetal is known for their songs like Gimme Chocolate!!, Karate, and Megitsune, and their collaborations with popular acts like Bring Me the Horizon and Eskimo Callboy.
A powerful anthem about not letting our fears hold us back, Bekhauf showcases cross-cultural storytelling through its animated video. Made by a team at Goppo Animation led by Debjyoti Saha, the video combines vibrant visuals reminiscent of 2000s animation with Bloodywood’s music.
Over the past few years, Goppo Animation, inspired by the Bengali word ‘goppo’ meaning stories, has worked on animated videos for rappers like Hanumankind, Prabh Deep and DIVINE. This year, the studio presented their pitch for an animated series, Table for One, at Annecy International Animation Film Festival, which took place from June 9 to 15.
Bloodywood recently topped Spotify's Kickass Metal and New Nu playlists with their song Nu Delhi. The track, a love letter to their hometown New Delhi, has garnered 1.5 million views on YouTube. After a year of exciting releases, the band is set to drop their second album in early 2025.
