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“There’s fuck all seats,” screams a redhead from across the bar, “it’s divide and conquer to even get in!” She’s spot on. There’s sold out shows, and then there’s the final date of Bloodywood’s spectacularly successful European run. The Forum has opened up areas previously unseen to cram in as many fans as conceivably possible, every last centimetre of the venue stacked with the Indian sensations’ avid followers. The longer you spend watching the anticipation written across every face in the crowd, the more it hits you that tonight is a big deal for us as much as it is for Bloodywood. They last played the capital as an unknown band stuffed into a corner of Islington Academy’s back room, and now? They’ve more than succeeded at packing out a venue ten times the size.
Oceans of phones rise to illuminate the floor as Bloodywood’s entry music is drowned by an organic chant of their name. There’s no gentle introduction or welcome, it’s just a burst of blistering intensity from their first bounce onstage. ‘Dhana Dan’ sets the floor seething with movement; it’s dancing – of course, we’re dancing – but as the barefoot Sarthak Pahwa increases his Dhol drumbeats before a climax under raining sparks, it’s a hair’s breath away from the most wholesome riot of the year. “We taking you back to the place it all began, New Delhi,” screams Raoul Kerr as thousands of us drop as one to ‘Nu Delhi’, fireworks onstage mingling with bass pops to bring goosebumps to the very few of us not fully hypnotised by the bass buildups.
If you take yourself out of the immersion for a moment, you realise there’s a formula that they’re using, a masterplan behind the Bloodywood experience. Take a few minutes to explain the (always positive) message behind a song, drop it, blind everyone with colour-coordinated, high-energy dance moves to compensate for the fact most of us can’t understand the Hindi lyrics, then enjoy the applause. But knowing that formula doesn’t take away from the joy of what Bloodywood are creating tonight. In fact, it only means we feel more respect for them: they have a mission and they’re doing their utmost to ensure we’re all on their team. Just take ‘Jey Veerey’. “Have you ever been in a place so dark even the moon doesn’t shine?” Kerr asks, and in any other situation a band taking a moment to talk about mental health would be a lead into a sober reflection on survival. But this is a Bloodywood show. The song bursts forth as a celebration of continued life, blooming with Linkin Park-style guitar smashing and unexpected Bansuri solos. They wrap their political fervour in stagecraft that transcends cultural barriers as they extend out the intro to ‘Machi Bhasad (Expect A Riot)’ to delay our gratification before the bass explodes into Jayant Bhadula’s primal roar.
The other realisation that hits during the show is that any qualms about whether Indian Metal can work simply don’t matter in a set as glorious as this. Just because collaborators Babymetal aren’t present doesn’t make ‘Bekhauf’ any less of a banger either. It’s impossible not to feel empowered as the band bang their head in unison during the single, enjoying the tidal wave of energy as much as we are. A crowd surfer films himself riding to the front as the song slams to a close and Bhadula breaks into a grin, tapping his chest as a salute. The briefness of their set is inconsequential too as somehow nine songs feels like a full show. How they can make closer ‘Halla Bol’ faster and tougher than it is on record is a mystery, and it’s a beast of a song that grabs you by the shoulders and shakes you hard with each bonus drumbeat and crashing wall of guitar. Bhadula jokes about how his lyrics can’t be followed as a singalong during the encore, and the fact we’ve been jamming out to words the majority of us don’t understand only makes the experience of seeing Bloodywood that much more extraordinary. ‘Gadaar’ is less a final bow and more a final slap to the face with brightly painted concrete, with Kerr teasing and delaying the drop as much as possible before demanding a final pit filled with beautiful, carnival mayhem.
We could see tonight as a learning experience for the scene. A young band, with a mostly online following and a uncompromising spirit, can fill a venue. We, as lovers of heavy music, are more than ready for something new and bold that draws on sources we wouldn’t expect with an attitude that deserves admiration. But that level of reflection will come later. With our ears ringing from an hour of a show that sets a new bar for the level of passion, energy and sheer hypnotic power that we can expect from a show, we’re still riding the buzz of seeing a band as fantastic as Bloodywood.
KATE ALLVEY
Oceans of phones rise to illuminate the floor as Bloodywood’s entry music is drowned by an organic chant of their name. There’s no gentle introduction or welcome, it’s just a burst of blistering intensity from their first bounce onstage. ‘Dhana Dan’ sets the floor seething with movement; it’s dancing – of course, we’re dancing – but as the barefoot Sarthak Pahwa increases his Dhol drumbeats before a climax under raining sparks, it’s a hair’s breath away from the most wholesome riot of the year. “We taking you back to the place it all began, New Delhi,” screams Raoul Kerr as thousands of us drop as one to ‘Nu Delhi’, fireworks onstage mingling with bass pops to bring goosebumps to the very few of us not fully hypnotised by the bass buildups.
If you take yourself out of the immersion for a moment, you realise there’s a formula that they’re using, a masterplan behind the Bloodywood experience. Take a few minutes to explain the (always positive) message behind a song, drop it, blind everyone with colour-coordinated, high-energy dance moves to compensate for the fact most of us can’t understand the Hindi lyrics, then enjoy the applause. But knowing that formula doesn’t take away from the joy of what Bloodywood are creating tonight. In fact, it only means we feel more respect for them: they have a mission and they’re doing their utmost to ensure we’re all on their team. Just take ‘Jey Veerey’. “Have you ever been in a place so dark even the moon doesn’t shine?” Kerr asks, and in any other situation a band taking a moment to talk about mental health would be a lead into a sober reflection on survival. But this is a Bloodywood show. The song bursts forth as a celebration of continued life, blooming with Linkin Park-style guitar smashing and unexpected Bansuri solos. They wrap their political fervour in stagecraft that transcends cultural barriers as they extend out the intro to ‘Machi Bhasad (Expect A Riot)’ to delay our gratification before the bass explodes into Jayant Bhadula’s primal roar.
The other realisation that hits during the show is that any qualms about whether Indian Metal can work simply don’t matter in a set as glorious as this. Just because collaborators Babymetal aren’t present doesn’t make ‘Bekhauf’ any less of a banger either. It’s impossible not to feel empowered as the band bang their head in unison during the single, enjoying the tidal wave of energy as much as we are. A crowd surfer films himself riding to the front as the song slams to a close and Bhadula breaks into a grin, tapping his chest as a salute. The briefness of their set is inconsequential too as somehow nine songs feels like a full show. How they can make closer ‘Halla Bol’ faster and tougher than it is on record is a mystery, and it’s a beast of a song that grabs you by the shoulders and shakes you hard with each bonus drumbeat and crashing wall of guitar. Bhadula jokes about how his lyrics can’t be followed as a singalong during the encore, and the fact we’ve been jamming out to words the majority of us don’t understand only makes the experience of seeing Bloodywood that much more extraordinary. ‘Gadaar’ is less a final bow and more a final slap to the face with brightly painted concrete, with Kerr teasing and delaying the drop as much as possible before demanding a final pit filled with beautiful, carnival mayhem.
We could see tonight as a learning experience for the scene. A young band, with a mostly online following and a uncompromising spirit, can fill a venue. We, as lovers of heavy music, are more than ready for something new and bold that draws on sources we wouldn’t expect with an attitude that deserves admiration. But that level of reflection will come later. With our ears ringing from an hour of a show that sets a new bar for the level of passion, energy and sheer hypnotic power that we can expect from a show, we’re still riding the buzz of seeing a band as fantastic as Bloodywood.
KATE ALLVEY