Bloodywood, Ekoh, Ladrones and Hollow Pact at UC Theatre in Berkeley

Bloodywood returned to the San Francisco Bay Area for the second time in less than two weeks — first opening for Baby Metal at The Masonic in San Francisco to headlining Berkeley’s UC Theatre on a Saturday night.

Not hip to Bloodywood yet? Starting in New Delhi in 2016 as a heavy metal cover band, Bloodywood has become India’s first metal act to chart on Billboard thanks to their catchy original material including their aptly-named 2025 release, Nu Delhi. From the looks around the theater on this particular night, their fanbase is likely more diverse than you might expect from that brief description.

Adding to the mix, was an eclectic slate of artists to warm up the Berkeley crowd. Hollow Pact’s energetic opening set was followed by Mexico’s Ladrones who delivered a frenetic mix of hip-hop and metal that got the floor spinning egged on by some mega-fans in attendance. Rapper Ekoh took the mic from their and tore through his rap set that no doubt garnered a slew of new fans.

With the stage fully cleared except for a drum kit, Bloodywood strolled onto the stage with a few waves before busting straight into “Dana Dan” off of their debut studio album, Rakshak. The packed floor proceeded to go bonkers as the band lined up across the front of the stage, furiously headbanging as co-vocalists Jayant Bhadula and Raoul Kerr traded verses in English as well as Hindi and Punjabi with the crowd roaring along.

Bhadula and Kerr took the time to introduce most of the songs, bridging their culture and emphasizing the similarities from the other side of the planet. At times the banter came across as a bit of filler given the relatively short (<1 hour) set, but the UC Theatre crowd hung on every word from their idols, taking the opportunity to catch their collective breath before the chaos of the next song ensued.

While Berkeley was the last date on their USA headlining run before heading to Europe with Halestorm in the fall, there will hopefully be more chances to catch them again in 2026 given the momentum behind this band.

Setlist