O2 Ritz, Manchester – Live Review

Bloodywood | Calva Louise
O2 Ritz, Manchester
25th March 2025

Bloodywood return to Manchester promoting their new album New Delhi, captivating and inspiring an adoring sold-out O2 Ritz.

I open the double doors to the downstairs room and instantly think, I’m going to die. The room’s completely packed from side to side and front to back. As much as I wince at the thought of being at perfect armpit height throughout, I can’t help but smile. The room is buzzing with excitement. The plumes of sweat, the lights, the laughs, and the rumbling of anticipation quickly overtake my small-person fear.

Bloodywood are fairly new to me, I’ve never seen them live, but am still a huge fan of their music and have no idea what to expect. A band that could be seen as out there and unusual have unified 1500 people from all walks of life. It’s refreshing and it’s certainly needed in times like these.

First up, however, is Calva Louise. If there’s a band to watch this year, it’s this one. A complete sonic mash-up of electronic elements with face-scrunching riffs and gut-curdling screams makes for an electrifying experience. All this wrapped in dance-able grooves creates a mind-mashing, painfully short half-hour set. Jess Allanic is an empowering unstoppable force, switching between keyboards (whilst playing riffs with her left hand), high-leg-kicks, screams as though they’re from hell itself and clean vocals you could transcend to.

Calva Lousie covers a mixture of genres and have at least something any heavy music listener would enjoy. Bassist Alizon Taho stays consistently tight with drummer Ben Parker, both multi-tasking throughout. They tackle backing vocals and synth work which adds to the huge layered sound of Calva Louise. An incredibly impressive threesome that deserves real recognition and can surely only go up from here.

Bloodywood burst on stage with no mercy, hitting us with fan-favourite Dana Dan. Their stage set-up is surprising and unusual, opting for more freeform rather than set spaces for the members. They are often joined together at the front of the stage, creating a strikingly powerful line where they head-bang in unison. This freeform stage set-up allows the members to interact with the audience and each other with ease, further enhancing the unified atmosphere they so easily create.

Their music is a beautiful and brutal mix of traditional Indian folk and metal; it works so well. The traditional beats along with the calming higher frequency flutes and sitars against a backdrop of layered, down-tuned destructive riffs create an amazing and unique audio landscape; not to mention the rapping by Raoul Kerr giving a nu-metal-esque feel on top of everything else. I never thought I’d see the day when a circle pit would form for a song about a traditional Indian dish, Tadka. The tongue-in-cheek Indian cuisine theme of their new album gives us a little respite from their more serious words of wisdom but still slaps as hard as anything else.

Percussionist Sarthak Pahwa plays the dhol with intense passion and fierce energy throughout. The accenting of specific beats makes those break-downs hit even harder and the crowd refuses to stop moving. However, they are all showmen in their own right and their energy is relentless.

Mandolin with blast beats? Yes! Lute with funk? Why not. It’s bands like Bloodywood who push the boat out that make the biggest impact in the music world. I hope they continue their amazing work and continue to inspire artists to implement traditional instruments into modern genres and sound fearless. Bloodywoods explosive celebration of their culture and art gives us, the audience, an opportunity to expand our knowledge. They allow us to appreciate the beauty and power of different people and cultures and experience the joy of bringing those elements together.

They are a perfect example of how against the odds we find strength and commonality regardless of background. Bloodywood are also simply a ridiculously good metal band whose unique qualities deserve recognition. Do not miss them if you get the chance, it really is a spectacle.

Bloodwood can be found at their website | Facebook | Instagram

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All words by Lucy Shevchuk. More writing by Lucy on Louder Than War can be found at her author’s archive.

Photos by Frank Ralph you can find Frank at his website | Instagram| Facebook