Gig review: BLOODYWOOD – The Mash House, Edinburgh – 12th June 2023

My phone pinged and the text read ‘Hi pal, do you fancy going to see Bloodywood in Edinburgh’. I must admit my first reaction was ‘who?’, but the answer was ‘yup, let#s rock!’. So, it was a night out in one of Edinburgh’s smallest venues, on one of the hottest nights of the year, with one of metal’s hottest new acts.

Bloodywood hail from New Delhi. They were in the UK for the Download festival and added in a few small club dates for good measure. They had already toured the UK earlier in the year and had gone down a storm, so it was no surprise when the dates sold out very quickly and judging by tonight’s performance it will be the last time they play in venues of this size. Bloodywood are destined for bigger things, much bigger!

However, I am getting ahead of myself as tonight’s proceedings got underway with a very noisy trio, Lake Malice. The pairing of Alice Guala on vocals and Blake Cornwall on guitar were joined for the evening by Emily Ainger and were also fresh from a Download appearance. They exploded on to the stage in a ball of pent-up energy and fury that didn’t really subside throughout the set.

Alice’s vocal lends itself well to the hard-edged soundtrack and full on delivery. They got the growing crowd onside quickly and it wasn’t too long before we had the first circle pit of the night. Songs like ‘Stop The Party’ and ‘Bloodbath’ went down a storm with the crowd and at the end of their allotted 30 minutes they left the stage to heartfelt cheers from an appreciative crowd.

From the moment Bloodywood hit the stage and launched into ‘Gaddaar’ the Mash House descended into a riot of bouncing bodies that moved the heat up a notch or two. The band’s fusion of blast beat metal, coupled with traditional Indian folk music and instruments, is a unique sound. The guys honed their art over the years producing cover versions of songs for You Tube before developing their own sound and you can tell they are a well-seasoned unit.

The twin vocal delivery of Jayant Bhadula and Raoul Kerr reminded me of a very pissed off Linkin Park, not so much rock n roll as rap n growl! The set was taken from their debut album ‘Rakshak’ and all tracks took on a new life in the live setting.

Highlights of the set included ‘Aaj’ and ‘Machi Bhasad’ amongst others. I had a vantage point near the back of the hall and the sprung dancefloor in the club acted as a trampoline as the crowd bounced along. I was surprised no one knocked themselves out as the ceiling was quite low!

The most powerful song of the night was the relentless ‘Dana-Dan’. Its pummelling rhythms were a constant barrage which steamrollered the crowd into submission. ‘Jee Veerey’ featured Karan Katiyar on traditional flute which added an extra element to the song. The song is about fighting mental illness and depression, a subject the band are passionate about and look to promote awareness through their music.

I may not have been aware of Bloodywood before tonight, but this was a show that left you wanting more. As I said the band are destined for bigger things and much bigger venues in the near future. They offer something different, which is often a hard thing to achieve in rock, and their unique sound, coupled with their energy and passion, has already won them a legion of fans. I can only see that growing as the band continue to tour and hit the festival circuit, I for one will be back for more!

Bloodywood, more like bloody good!

Review by Dave Wilson.

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)