We’re huge fans of Bloodywood, the New Delhi band merging kinetic groove metal and Indian folk music with explosive results. But while the track we reported on before, “Gaddaar,” was an awesome coming together of these influences, the band’s new song “Aaj” and the music video that comes with it have absolutely blown us away.
The first thing that really grabs the listener about “Aaj” is its rhythm. While “Gaddaar” had a mid-paced bounce that felt at home with the band’s rapped English vocals, this one kicks off with the kind of surging gallop that inspires circle pits at thrash and melodeath shows.
The video, meanwhile, features the members performing the track in various spots around India, their buckled boots and sleeveless tees backed by sprawling vistas of unmatched beauty. The two might seem incongruous to some — the natural spectacle as scenery for this very modern, very aggressive music — but it works incredibly well. Watching frontman Jayant Bhadula bellow Hindi lyrics into the sprawling mountains, one can’t help but think that this is the only place on earth that could encompass such sonic power.
“The decision to be bilingual, vocally speaking, was a natural one that we didn’t really think about,” the band told The Pit back in November. “It just felt like the way to go, and it definitely adds a different dimension to our sound. We’re happy to share that people feel the emotion and understand the sentiment even if they don’t speak the language (though we did get requests for translations and subtitles, which you’ll find in all our songs now). The moment we knew that beyond a doubt was when we played a sold out show in Paris and had an amazing audience of French people sing the chorus back at us in perfect Hindi. They were so loud and clear that we couldn’t hear Jayant!”
Check out “Aaj” below:
Bloodywood’s Rakshak drops February 18th, and is available for preorder.
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Words by Chris Krovatin
