Indian Folk-Metal Fury, Nu-Metal Bounce And Donington Going Absolutely Wild

Some bands turn up at Download Festival and play a set.

Bloodywood turn up and start a movement.

When the New Delhi metal powerhouse hit the Apex Stage at Download Festival 2026, Donington was not simply watching another heavy band in the Sunday afternoon sun. It was watching a storm of culture, rhythm, rage, joy, defiance and proper pit-starting chaos roll across the main stage like a metal monsoon.

And fair play, butt — it was absolutely glorious.

After a Sunday already kicked awake by unpeople, battered by Kublai Khan TX and emotionally cracked open by RØRY, Bloodywood arrived with something completely different again: a world-spanning fusion of Indian folk power, nu-metal bounce, rap-metal bite and riff-heavy fury that made the Apex Stage feel like the loudest celebration on the planet.

This was not a novelty.

This was not “interesting because it is different.”

This was a band operating at full power, grabbing one of the biggest stages at Download by the throat and making thousands of people move as one.

Bloodywood came to Donington.

Bloodywood brought the dhol.

Bloodywood made the field shake.

A Sunday Afternoon Gear Change That Hit Like A Truck 🛻🔥

Sunday afternoon at Download can be a funny old beast.

By this point, everyone has been through the wars. The legs are fading. The voices are shredded. The campsite has started to look like the aftermath of a low-budget disaster film. Some people are trying to pace themselves for the final night. Others have accepted their fate and are running purely on riffs, chips and questionable hydration decisions.

Then Bloodywood hit the Apex Stage and suddenly everyone found another level.

That is the thing about this band.

Their energy is infectious.

You do not need to know every lyric. You do not need to understand every musical reference. You do not need a tutorial in how Indian folk elements meet modern metal riffage. The moment it hits, your body understands before your brain catches up.

The rhythm grabs you.

The riffs punch you.

The vocals pull you in.

The dhol gives the whole thing a heartbeat the size of Donington.

This was exactly the kind of set that can transform a tired festival field. One minute, Sunday is starting to feel heavy in the bones. The next, Bloodywood are on stage and everyone is bouncing like the weekend has just started again.

Lovely stuff.

Bloodywood Do Not Sound Like Anyone Else 🌍🤘

One of the most exciting things about Bloodywood is that they sound unmistakably like themselves.

That should be simple, but in modern heavy music, it is not always guaranteed. Plenty of bands are heavy. Plenty are tight. Plenty can start a pit. But Bloodywood bring a personality so strong that you could hear ten seconds and know exactly who you are dealing with.

They fuse crushing metal riffs with traditional Indian instrumentation and rhythmic force, then layer it with rap, roaring vocals, melodic power and a message-driven urgency that makes everything feel alive.

On the Apex Stage, that identity felt massive.

Nothing about it felt forced. The folk elements were not decorative glitter slapped on top of generic metal. They were part of the engine. The dhol was not a background flavour. It was a weapon. The rap sections were not awkward add-ons. They gave the songs extra movement, swagger and bite.

Bloodywood are not borrowing from two worlds.

They are building their own.

And Donington was more than ready to step inside.

The Setlist: Seven Songs, No Mercy ⚡

For a tight festival slot, Bloodywood kept things compact and deadly.

The reported setlist was:

Dana Dan
Aaj
Nu Delhi
Gaddaar
Bekhauf
Halla Bol
Machi Bhasad (Expect a Riot)

That is not a long setlist.

That is a festival detonator.

Seven songs. Forty-five minutes. No filler. No dead space. No messing about.

Every track had a clear role. Some brought the pit. Some brought the groove. Some brought the anthem. Some brought the cultural identity. Some brought the full “what on earth is happening and why do I want to run through a wall?” energy.

That is exactly what a main stage festival set should do.

Get in.
Make the point.
Leave the crowd sweating, smiling and wondering how soon Bloodywood can come back higher up the bill.

“Dana Dan” Opens With Pure Intent 💥

Opening with “Dana Dan” was a serious statement.

This is one of those songs that does not ask politely for your attention. It storms in, flips the table, starts the pit and gives the whole field a proper shock to the system.

The Apex Stage crowd responded immediately.

There was no awkward warm-up. No gentle easing in. No “let’s see how this goes” energy. From the second Bloodywood hit full stride, the crowd knew this was going to be something special.

“Dana Dan” has that brilliant Bloodywood balance of aggression and purpose. It is heavy, yes, but it is not empty heaviness. There is anger behind it. There is intent. There is a sense that the band are using metal as a vehicle for something bigger than just volume.

And live?

It absolutely rips.

The guitars landed hard. The drums punched. The dhol gave it that thunderous, physical swing. Jayant Bhadula’s roar cut through like a war cry, while Raoul Kerr’s rap delivery added grit, rhythm and fire.

As an opener, it did exactly what it needed to do.

It told Donington:

“Wake up. Bloodywood are here.”

Jayant And Raoul: A Frontman Tag-Team Built For Battle 🎤🔥

Bloodywood’s dual-frontman setup is one of their biggest live strengths.

Jayant Bhadula brings the power. That huge, commanding vocal presence feels built for festival stages. His delivery has weight, authority and a sense of emotional force that makes the heavier moments hit like they have been thrown from the back of a lorry.

Raoul Kerr brings the flow, the attack, the connection and the rallying energy. His rap sections cut through the riffs with precision, giving the songs a different kind of momentum. He is not just there to fill space between choruses. He helps drive the entire machine forward.

Together, they are brilliant.

On the Apex Stage, they worked the crowd like they knew exactly what they had in front of them: a massive Download audience ready to be convinced, converted and thrown into motion.

They did not waste the opportunity.

The two vocal styles bounced off each other beautifully. Roar into rap. Rap into chant. Chant into riff. Riff into pit. Repeat until Donington is fully cooked.

That is how you command a main stage.

“Aaj” Turns Defiance Into A Festival Anthem 🙌

“Aaj” was one of the set’s biggest emotional punches.

There is something about that song that feels made for a crowd. It has force, but it also has lift. It is heavy without being bleak, defiant without being hollow, and absolutely capable of turning a festival field into one big raised-fist moment.

At Download, it landed beautifully.

The chorus carried. The rhythm moved through the crowd. The band looked fully locked in, and the field gave the energy straight back.

This is where Bloodywood’s message-driven power really shines. They are not just here to make people bounce. They are here to make people feel strong, seen, angry, hopeful and alive. That emotional core is what stops the set from being merely impressive and makes it properly powerful.

“Aaj” felt like one of those songs that casual listeners could grab instantly, even if they were hearing it for the first time.

That is a huge festival win.

“Nu Delhi” Brings The Roots And The Rage 🏙️

Then came “Nu Delhi,” and this was a proper highlight.

The title alone carries Bloodywood’s identity proudly. This is a band bringing their home, their culture, their rhythm and their voice to one of the biggest rock stages in the UK — and not watering it down for anyone.

At Donington, “Nu Delhi” sounded enormous.

It had swagger. It had weight. It had that brilliant blend of old-school nu-metal bounce and unmistakably Bloodywood character. You could feel the crowd lock into the groove, especially once the rhythmic force of the track really kicked in.

This was one of the clearest examples of why Bloodywood feel so fresh.

In a weekend full of nu-metal nostalgia, they were not simply repeating the past. They were taking the spirit of bounce, groove, rage and crowd connection and dragging it into a global, modern, culturally rich future.

That matters.

Because heavy music should evolve.

Bloodywood are evolution with a dhol and a breakdown.

Tidy.

Sarthak Pahwa’s Dhol Is A Secret Weapon 🪘

Actually, forget secret weapon.

It is a very obvious weapon.

Sarthak Pahwa’s dhol is one of the things that makes Bloodywood’s live show feel so physical. It adds a huge percussive depth that most metal bands simply do not have. You do not just hear it. You feel it in your chest, your ribs and whatever part of your festival soul still has battery left.

On the Apex Stage, the dhol gave the set its pulse.

Every time it came through, the songs gained extra body. The riffs felt bigger. The crowd movement felt more natural. The folk-metal identity became not just something you could point at, but something driving the entire performance.

And watching that energy unfold on a stage like Apex was brilliant.

Metal has always loved rhythm. It loves drums, stomp, groove and communal motion. Bloodywood tap into that in a way that feels both ancient and modern at the same time.

The result?

Donington dancing, moshing and headbanging under the same sun.

Lovely job.

“Gaddaar” Sends The Pit Sideways 🌪️

“Gaddaar” was a proper pit-starter.

This one brought the bounce and bite in equal measure, and the crowd responded with exactly the kind of movement you want from a Bloodywood set. Circle pits opened. Heads went. Arms flew. The Apex Stage field started to look like someone had flicked the “festival chaos” switch.

What makes “Gaddaar” so effective live is how immediate it feels.

The groove is massive. The vocals hit hard. The riffs are built for movement. It has that beautiful quality where the whole crowd understands what to do without needing instructions.

Move.

Shout.

Bounce.

Lose your mind, responsibly.

It was one of those moments where Bloodywood showed that they are not just exciting on record. They are a proper live force. The kind of band that can turn a field into a shared physical release within seconds.

Donington went with them.

Big time.

“Bekhauf” Brings The BABYMETAL Link-Up Energy 🦊🔥

Then came “Bekhauf,” and given BABYMETAL had already delivered their own huge Apex Stage moment earlier in the weekend, this one felt extra fun.

The collaboration has already become one of Bloodywood’s biggest global crossover moments, and even without BABYMETAL physically on stage, it carried that bright, genre-smashing energy brilliantly.

At Download, it hit as a modern metal celebration.

Heavy, bouncy, dramatic and built for festival reaction.

The crowd knew it. You could feel the recognition ripple through the field, and the response gave the set another lift. Bloodywood are at their best when they sound like borders do not matter — not musical borders, not cultural borders, not scene borders.

“Bekhauf” captured that perfectly.

It was not just a song in the set.

It was a reminder that heavy music in 2026 is bigger, wider, stranger and more exciting than any narrow little rulebook.

And that is exactly how we like it, butt.

Karan Katiyar’s Riffs Bring The Metal Muscle 🎸

For all the attention rightly given to Bloodywood’s unique fusion elements, let’s not forget one crucial thing:

The riffs absolutely batter.

Karan Katiyar’s guitar work gives the whole thing the metal backbone it needs. Without those riffs landing properly, the fusion would not hit the same way. But live, they came through with serious force — sharp, chunky, groovy and absolutely built for Download.

The Apex Stage sound gave the guitars enough punch to carry across the field, and when the heavier sections landed, they landed properly.

That is why Bloodywood can win over metal crowds so quickly.

Yes, the folk elements are distinctive. Yes, the dhol is huge. Yes, the dual vocals are brilliant. But underneath all of it, the band still bring the riffs.

And at Download, riffs are the local currency.

Bloodywood paid in full.

“Halla Bol” Turns The Field Into A Chanting Army 📣

“Halla Bol” was another massive live moment.

The phrase itself carries that rallying, shout-it-loud energy, and the song felt tailor-made for a festival crowd. This was one of those tracks where the barrier between band and audience started to blur. The rhythm, the chants, the movement — it all turned into one big communal blast.

At Download, that kind of thing works beautifully.

Metal crowds love a command they can shout back. They love a rhythm they can move to. They love a moment that makes thousands of strangers feel like they are all part of the same ridiculous, sweaty, sun-drenched machine.

“Halla Bol” delivered exactly that.

It had force. It had spirit. It had crowd connection.

And it pushed the set beautifully towards its final explosion.

“Machi Bhasad” Does Exactly What It Promises: Expect A Riot 🔥

Closing with “Machi Bhasad (Expect a Riot)” was absolutely perfect.

The title is basically a warning label.

And Donington, being Donington, ignored all sensible caution and went straight in.

This was the final burst of the set — the last chance for Bloodywood to leave a mark — and they made sure it landed like a boot through a festival table.

The energy was huge.

The crowd was fully there. The movement was wild. The band looked like they were having the time of their lives. Everything that made the set work came together: the riffs, the dhol, the vocals, the groove, the culture, the fury, the joy.

It was chaotic, yes.

But it was joyful chaos.

The best kind.

By the end, the Apex Stage crowd looked thoroughly converted. People were smiling, sweating, shouting and probably trying to work out how quickly they could tell their mates they had just seen one of the best bands of the weekend.

Because honestly?

They had a strong case.

Why Bloodywood Worked So Well At Download 🤘

Bloodywood worked at Download because they understand something vital about heavy music:

It is global.

It always has been, really, but bands like Bloodywood make that impossible to ignore. They bring their own identity proudly, loudly and without compromise. They do not sand off the edges to fit someone else’s idea of what metal should look or sound like.

That is why this set mattered.

Download 2026 has felt like a festival looking forward. A bill full of legacy names, yes, but also a bill where newer, more diverse, more globally minded heavy music has been given proper space to shine.

Bloodywood absolutely seized that space.

They brought South Asian sounds to the Apex Stage, but they did not do it as a polite cultural showcase. They did it as a full-force metal attack. Loud, proud, heavy, defiant and impossible to ignore.

That is exactly what Download needs.

Not just bands preserving the past.

Bands building the future.

The Crowd Reaction: Donington Fully Bought In 🙌

The crowd reaction was brilliant.

It started strong and got bigger as the set went on. The movement was there from early on, but by the time Bloodywood hit the middle of the set, the Apex Stage field felt properly locked in.

Circle pits opened.
Hands went up.
Heads banged.
People shouted back.
Strangers danced badly and beautifully.
The sunshine made it all feel even more glorious.

This was not a crowd politely appreciating something different.

This was a crowd fully buying into it.

That is the difference.

Bloodywood did not feel like outsiders being granted a space on the bill. They felt like they belonged there — and the crowd reacted accordingly.

By the end, they had one of those festival responses that tells you a band is ready for bigger slots, longer sets and even more chaos next time.

A Band Clearly Moving Up The Download Ladder 📈

There was a real sense during this set that Bloodywood are climbing fast.

And they should be.

Their 2026 Apex Stage performance felt bigger than its position on the bill. Not because the slot was small — Apex Stage is massive, obviously — but because the band sounded like they had even more room to grow into.

This felt like a marker.

A “remember this one” set.

The kind of performance that festival bookers, fans and casual wanderers all clock for future reference. Bloodywood have the songs, the presence, the identity and the live power to keep moving up.

And if they do return to Download again, you would not bet against them taking an even bigger step.

Because after this?

The argument is easy.

Bloodywood are not just one of the most exciting bands in modern metal.

They are one of the most exciting live bands full stop.

Final Verdict: Bloodywood Were A Global Metal Riot In The Sunshine 🪘🔥

Bloodywood on the Apex Stage at Download Festival 2026 was an absolute triumph.

They brought fire.
They brought rhythm.
They brought culture.
They brought riffs.
They brought message.
They brought movement.
They brought joy.

From “Dana Dan” through to “Machi Bhasad,” the set was tight, powerful and bursting with identity. Jayant Bhadula and Raoul Kerr were a brilliant frontman tag-team, Karan Katiyar’s riffs hit hard, and Sarthak Pahwa’s dhol gave the whole performance a heartbeat Donington could not resist.

This was not just a good Sunday afternoon set.

This was a proper Download moment.

A reminder that heavy music is bigger than borders, bigger than nostalgia and bigger than any outdated idea of what metal is supposed to be.

Bloodywood came to Donington, raised the temperature, opened the pits and turned the Apex Stage into a global metal celebration.

Proper job, mun.

The Riff Report Rating: 9/10

Indian folk-metal fire, nu-metal bounce, dhol thunder and one of Sunday’s most exciting Apex Stage moments. Bloodywood brought the riot — and Download loved every second. 🪘🤘🔥