Rakshak

Album review

The meeting of traditional Indian instruments and rap metal was probably the last thing aficionados of both genres expected. Yet, how effective! With its bilingual (guttural) vocals in Hindi/Punjabi provided by Jayant Bhadula and in English (rap) by Raoul Kerr, Bloodywood, champion of "Indian folk metal", spares nobody. It's the local and international politicians who get the shaft, all the time. Gaddaar ("traitor"), Rakshak's opening track, has a rare ferocity that manages to offer folk and symphonic elements with almost indecent ease in an explosive cocktail that takes us back to the best of nu metal.

The band from New Delhi experiments a lot and with great success, as on the incredible Zanjeero Se, alternating with accuracy melodic and extreme moments with a result that takes you by surprise. One can appreciate the electronica influence on Dana-Dan, the use of the flute on Jee Veerey sprinkled with a host of traditional instruments, or the incendiary Chakh Le, which closes the album and is the perfect synthesis of what Bloodywood is trying to achieve. Rakshak is a manifesto for something new, unexpected, and incredibly powerful, wisely matured since 2016 on a YouTube channel with many covers. The experience gained is felt, and the verdict is clear: Bloodywood is set to become one of the big players on the metal scene in the next few years, and with style. A worthy Qobuzissime. © Maxime Archambaud/Qobuz