Biography
Some years ago Francesco Lombardo and Michele Panepinto decided to undertake a path of musical growth which would soon bring them to their first self-production. The result of this decision is the band Vitriol, which soon involved Gianluca Pappalardo, Pierangelo Carvello and Alessandro Sanfilippo. These musicians contributed their professional influences to enrich the style of the new band, inspired by the modern Progressive Rock & Metal genre and by the musical experiences of the 70’s historical bands.
The name of the project was the inspiration of their first EP which is a concept album. Vitriol in fact is the acronym of one of the most famous mottos of Renaissance alchemy: “Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultam Lapidem” (Enter the bowels of the Earth and, through your purification, you will find the hidden stone). It is a metaphor representing the path of man inside his own Ego in order to finally find the philosophical Truth.
In the same way, the main character of the story, called Knowledge, has a quests for his beloved, Truth; he reaches the destination after a number of pitfalls and after meeting some allegorical characters (such as Faith and Insanity) he’s also wrong-footed by the words of his beloved. The double meaning of the term “vitriol” (corrosive chemical element and acronym of the renaissance motto) can describe well the essence of the band, constantly hanging in the balance between its aggressive component and its introspective/reflective one.
Once the first collected works of the band was distributed to media it immediately generated lots of good reviews by the alternative rock and metal magazines in both paper and digital media: The EP received 15.5/16 in issue #59 of the prestigious Progression Magazine, the best score as “independent release” and one of the best scores among 200 label’s supported albums.
It is considered the Best Demo of the Month in the November issue of Metal Maniac (one of the most important magazine in Italy) and received 8 out of 10 in a majority of the most famous Italian and international webzines, such as Progressive Ears, MetalWave, UsaProgressiveMusic, Unprogged, Rock Hard, TrueMetal, Metallo Italiano, Eutk, Nova Muzique as well as many others.
Subsequently, the band caught the attention of the American label Melodic Revolution Records which has added Vitriol to their roster in 2010. During the same year their current guitar player Tommaso Semrov joined the band and Vitriol started pre-producing their first full-length album “Into The Silence I Sink” which was released in November 2012.
Recorded, mixed and mastered at Fear Studio in Ravenna and at the band’s studio in Bologna, published by Melodic Revolution Records, it’s a concept album revolving around the theme of Silence, metaphorically approached as “deep absence of communication”.
10 songs, conducive to an analysis of the different causes of this absence of communication: the anonymity of the urban environment, the historical contraposition of Ideologies (Outward Silence, between person and person), differences between who we are and who we appear to be (Inner Silence, between the own appearance and essence). Concluding the album, the last song analyzes what must have been the most atrocious communicative Silence that has ever happened: a bewildered Christ asking “My God, my God, why did you abandon me”?
The band is currently promoting their album with a strong web presence, press releases, radio, interviews, social networks, numerous newsletters and are in preparation of several official video clips and a making of for “Into The Silence I Sink”. Vitriol will also be touring Europe in 2013 across Italy, England, Belgium, Holland, Spain and Czech Republic.
Line up
Gianluca Pappalardo – Lead vocals
Tommaso Semrov – Guitars
Alessandro Sanfilippo – Guitars
Andrea Roda – Keyboards and vocals
Francesco Lombardo – Bass and vocals
Michele Panepinto – Drums and vocals
Discography
2009 – Vitriol (EP) Catalog number: MRR CD 10702
2012 – Into the Silence I Sink Catalog number: MRR CD 22014
