Review: Inner Vitriol – Semper Tacui
Style: Progressive metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Evergrey, Queensryche, Katatonia
Country: Italy
Release date: 20 March 2026
Italian dark progressive metallers Inner Vitriol are back on the scene, their sophomore album Semper Tacui (Latin: I Have Always Stayed Silent) finally releasing after fourteen long years1. That’s almost as long as the development cycle of last year’s long-awaited Nintendo title, Metroid Prime 4! “Good things come to those who wait,” says the old adage, right? Well, if you’re a Metroid Prime fan, I’m sorry to say you can consider yourself exempt from this principle. I know, I know, the wound is still fresh. Believe me, I’m right there with you folks. And then last month’s Phendrana review from my colleague Cory being without a single Prime reference was almost a slap in the face. I’m sorry, he didn’t know. He’s since been coached. But I digress. At least if you’re also a fan of Italian metal, you’ll certainly be very chuffed with the news of this release. So, win?2
Semper Tacui hits all the marks of a broody and equally heavy prog metal work that alternates between darkly emotional passages and crushing rhythmic moments without missing a beat. Thematically tackling concepts of time, identity, resistance, and approaching death, the album follows the inner voyage of a condemned man during his last year of life. The band was ostensibly inspired by a work of graffiti from inside the jail cells of the Palazzo Chiaramonte in Palermo, Sicily—a historical site of the Holy Inquisition in the 15th century3. Inside one of these cells is written “sempre tacqui”: a reaffirmation of resistance, of standing on one’s convictions, even in the face of certain death. Inner Vitriol have the strength to combine these profound themes with their immersive, tenebrous and introspective sonority, lending additional weight to these ideas with their impressive musicianship.
With Semper Tacui, the band intends to use polymeters and odd-groupings to create a sense of stumbling, of discomfort—mirroring the oppressive atmosphere of the prison.4 The exceptional guitar work of Michele Di Lauro flows seamlessly between staccato chord work and arpeggios, reinforcing singer Gabriele Gozzi, whose incredible, moving vocal performances run the gamut between soft, melancholic phrasing and impassioned, raspy belting, best exemplified on “Waterfall”. The album also features two standout guest vocalists: Andy Kuntz of Vanden Plas, who performs in a duet with Gozzi for “On a Cold Floor”, and Geoff Tate of the legendary Queensrÿche, on “Weaker and Fading”. The fact that both singers highlighted are coming from the highest echelons of the progressive metal world is a true testament to the band’s potential, being a modest outfit based in northeast Italy, and certainly elevates two already stellar tracks.
Although generally straying far from the hypercomplexity typical of the prog genre, Semper Tacui is not shy to feature some excellent technical performances. Of particular note is the playing on the track “Upon the First Ray of My Last Sun”, which aside from some whispered lines in the Sicilian language used to open the song, is the album’s only instrumental number. In this piece, heavily reverberant guitars resonate with a crystal shimmer over tight, virtuosic bass lines delivered by Francesco Lombardo, and a slowly building tension releases with a deliberate fade-in of distorted chords that modulate into a percussive downpicking “chugging” sound. Inner Vitriol are masters in developing structural complexity that balances character and mood with technicality and virtuosity, and I feel this is most evident in “I See Flames”. The ten-minute epic serves as the album’s closer and showcases some of the band’s heaviest songwriting to date as Di Lauro’s rich and rumbly downtuned guitar tone and rapid chord changes play up front, supported by drummer Michele Panepinto firing on all cylinders. And once more worth highlighting is Lombardo’s bass-guitar wizardry on this track, as the three trade beats in a twisty-turny barrage of meticulously plotted notes that’s sure to leave your head spinning.
Inner Vitriol once again put their best foot forward with this, dare I say, faultless release, and their enigmatic blend of tortured sentimentality with progressive metal soundscapes is expertly used to approach difficult themes with a necessary gravity. The constant tension and the resulting catharsis—the struggle of light breaking through an encroaching darkness—is the focal point that keeps the listener engaged, and gives this album its staying power. Semper Tacui is the result of ten years’ labour5, a prodigious release that reaffirms the enduring artistic passion of a band at the top of their game.
Recommended tracks: On a Cold Floor, Weaker and Fading, I See Flames
You may also like: For My Demons, Vanden Plas, The Eternal
Final verdict: 9/10
Related links: Official Website | Facebook | Instagram
Label: Hidden Stone Records
Inner Vitriol is:
– Gabriele Gozzi (vocals)
– Francesco Lombardo (bass)
– Michele Di Lauro (guitar)
– Michele Panepinto (drums)
With guests:
– Andy Kuntz (track 2)
– Geoff Tate (track 4)
- Their 2023 release “Into the Silence I Sink was a remaster of their 2012 debut originally released under their old moniker Vitriol ↩︎
- Sorry Metroid fans ↩︎
- And this reviewer’s hometown! ↩︎
- From this interview (Italian): https://www.metalinitaly.com/inner-vitriol-larte-resistenza-sacro-centimetro-integrita/ ↩︎
- From the same interview, see footnote #3 ↩︎
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