After 16 years of touring and releasing music, legendary Indian metal vocalist Gaurav Basu has decided to call it quits. Frontman of the Bangalore-based metal band Inner Sanctum, Gaurav has announced via social media that he left the band last week.
Also known by his moniker Acid Toad, Gaurav has helmed the vocal duties of Inner Sanctum since 2007, being a part of the band’s records and single releases to date.
Citing “change in priorities” as the prime reason, the vocalist wrote, “Things that once brought me joy about being in a band no longer excite my senses. I still love performing on stage, no high in the world is comparable to having a mic in hand and a rabid crowd to entertain. But the preparation that it takes to get there is a long and tedious process.”
“While it was a hard decision to make as of last week I have stepped down from my vocalist duties for Inner Sanctum leaving the door open for some new blood in the band. I definitely feel the band needs someone with a fresh attitude and mindset to take things to a new level.”
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Further adding, he said, “All the behind-the-scenes activities that I used to once enjoy seem to be a burden today. Very bluntly put I just do not enjoy this anymore. The entire process of what it takes to be musically active has become a complete turn-off for me. All this trouble for that one hour of cathartic release on stage isn’t a great payoff, at least from the perspective of where I am in life currently.”
Since bursting onto the scene back in 2007, death/thrash metal outfit Inner Sanctum has gradually made themselves one of the top-tier metal bands in India and Asia as well. Releasing their debut EP ‘Provenance’ in 2009, the band followed that up with a full-length album in 2015 titled ‘Legions Awake’, winning several awards in between such as Band Of The Year (2007 & 2009), Jack Daniels’ Emerging Band Of The Year (2010), etc.
Also, the band has shared the stage with a slew of international acts throughout their career such as Metallica, Slayer, Cradle of Filth, Amon Amarth, Meshuggah, Testament, and Enslaved, among others.
However, Gaurav has made it clear that he won’t be bidding farewell to the music scene completely, as he will still be involved with the scene in the visual art and design capacity. His last release with Inner Sanctum was the single ‘Divided by Hate’ released back in 2020.
