Bloodywood vocalist Jayant Bhadula talks fan love, cultural fusion, and the fearlessness behind their newest album Nu Delhi.
For years, Bloodywood has been rewriting what it means to be a metal band from India. With their fusion of folk, nu metal, and rap, their explosive sound and message-forward lyrics have taken them from YouTube fame to global stages, from 2022’s Rakshak to their latest album Nu Delhi, and everywhere in between.
At the heart of the Bloodywood noise-making machine is vocalist Jayant Bhadula, whose unmistakable growl and stage presence have become a key pillar in the band’s identity.
After wrapping a whirlwind tour following the release of Nu Delhi, Bhadula was briefly back home when we spoke to him, but there’s no slowing down.
“It’s very hot here, and we don’t really have a lot of time, because we have to quickly start touring,” he says, mid-prep for Bloodywood’s international runs alongside bands like BABYMETAL and Hailstorm. “It’s a very hectic time for us, but we love this.”
Despite the relentless schedule, the reception to Nu Delhi has been energizing. The album has charted globally and resonated with fans everywhere, but one thing in particular surprised Bhadula: “How fast everyone have just like learned the lyrics of the new songs, majority of them and are singing along. Especially when it’s the Hindi or the Urdu ones… it’s a little bit of a difficult language, and people are, you know, still singing that along. They’ve already learned it. So I mean, that is very surprising to me. Every time.”
That kind of devotion – fans singing in multiple languages, waving flags, getting lyrics tattooed – has become a defining part of the Bloodywood experience. For Bhadula, these fan connections are unforgettable. “There’s so many of those where we just sometimes forget how to react towards things. And that’s in a good way, obviously, because it’s overwhelming. All of it in a very good way.”
Nu Delhi, the band’s new album and their first since signing with Fearless Records, is a defiant statement that plants a flag for Indian metal – musically and culturally. “[It’s] dedicated towards the city that we’ve grown up in, and it’s also a statement piece where we’re saying that New Delhi is here in the metal world to stay,” Bhadula explains. “The emotion was… just raw power in majority of the cases.”
There’s a distinct and deliberate Indian presence in the music, not just through instrumentation, but thematically and visually. But Bhadula insists that the blend isn’t forced: “The Indian elements that get used in the song is literally demanded by the song, rather than it being a set formula… we depend a lot on the whole emotion that is going behind the music… whatever the fusion comes out just feels the perfect blend of it.”
One of the standout tracks from Bloodywood’s newest album, ‘Bekhauf’, which translates to “Fearless”, is driven by that very conviction – and for Bhadula, the meaning is crystal clear: “Fearless means to just go right in. It doesn’t really mean that you are devoid of fear. It means that you do feel fear, but at the same time you do not fear to take that chance… despite your fears, you still go in and get the thing done.”
That same mindset fuels the band’s no-holds-barred lyrical choices. Whether it’s mental health, rape culture or political corruption, Bloodywood confronts issues head-on. “The music and the themes that we talk about is really dependent on the things that either we have gone through or we just see around us. And…the change we would love to see in the world,” Bhadula says. “Obviously the people around the world associate with it… they connect with the theme. That’s why I think it is, in that sense, a little easier for us.”
Though Nu Delhi is heavier in tone, Bloodywood hasn’t lost their sense of humour, or their pride. “We are technically one of the first bands from India who is representing India in this metal world, you know, at such stages. So there is a sense of responsibility and a sense of pride… but at the same time, we just always playing metal. So the humor around it is very natural… it’s a part of our personality that just bleeds in.”
Asked what’s next for their sound, Bhadula is clear and unapologetic: “It is absolutely to the top of the world. That’s how I can put it… global domination is what we want to do, and we will not stop working till we get there.”
But with all the admiration Bloodywood have earned, there are still moments of surprise – even confusion – for Bhadula. “Sometimes people come up to me and ask me, did I sing this specific section in a song or something like that? And that is very funny… I just realised that they just think it’s so good that one person cannot do it.”
As for those who haven’t heard Bloodywood yet? “Be there if you can be at one of the shows. Listen to the new album. And if you haven’t heard of us, give it a chance. You will love it.”
With Nu Delhi, the band is waving a flag for Indian metal, but they’re also planning global domination. Based on the fans, major international tours, and incredible reception to the new album, we’re pretty sure they’re well on their way to that goal.
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