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Nephylim are a Melodic Death Metal band hailing from the Netherlands that released an EP titled Torn in 2015, around the same time that they formed. I guess this burst of productivity was too much, as they disbanded shortly after before reforming some time in 2018. If their full-length debut, Severance of Serenity, is anything to go by, it seems that brief hiatus did them a world of good.

Despite coming from the Netherlands, Nephylim reminds me more of Finnish Melodeath acts like Kalmah, Insomnium, and Wolfheart in how they approach the melodic work on here. The album itself is shockingly professional for a debut, with the band deftly balancing out melody with enough brutality to keep this from getting too whimsical thanks to some top-notch musicianship and a strong, emotionally charged atmosphere found throughout the album. The guitar work is a clear highlight, with the ax duo of Kevin and Ralph wringing out striking riff patterns that carefully lead into rich guitar solos, all of which form a strong foundation for each track as they ingeniously build upon themselves over their runtime.

It's not often that a new band releases an album good enough to make them serious contenders in the global scene, especially one as bloated as Melodeath has been for years, but that's exactly what Nephylim have done. If you like your Melodeath to be beautiful without sacrificing heaviness in the slightest, then you need to give Severance to Serenity a listen.