From the first glimpse of the cover of "Never", the third album of the Greek experimental doom Metallers UNIVERSE217 the feeling of denial and rejection is dominant. The withered background with the drawn goldfish and its mouth-hanging skull combined the calligraphic writing of "Never" indicates the mood of the album. And as if that was not enough the intimidating and characteristic voice of Tania in the album opener "Mouth" seals the impending doom.

Indeed there are not a lot of doom bands which feature a female vocalist and what makes UNIVERSE217 even more special is Tania's dynamic voice with a very characteristic tone and range. The compositions of the album are dictated by the austere definition of the term "doom". Each song feels like a crawling abomination that moves slowly under the strict command of the band with the ground shaking at every step. The duration of the songs is ranging from two minutes to eleven. In fact "Mark My World" is the shortest and the grooviest song of the album with killer riffs and a stick-in-your-head chorus. On the other hand, "She", unfolds really slowly but it is another great chance to witness the amazing capabilities of the band's vocalist, especially in the beginning. There are very interesting songs in the record and I would pick additionally "Harm" and the closing homonymous track "Never" which I would say is the most pessimistic and dark song of the record, the epitome of denial.

The criteria for a musical piece to distinguish itself from the huge pile of bands that exist is to be able to identify itself through their music. UNIVERSE217 is one of those few lucky and blessed bands to feature skilled instrument players and talented composers but also an extremely unique voice behind the mic. Tania's vocal capabilities are amazing simply speaking and bind perfect with the style of the band. "Never" is one of the finest albums of doom metal I have listened to this year and the outcome of the record is really impressive. The compositions prove that the band has matured even more with their third album and they grow slowly but steadily as a recognized force in the genre. UNIVERSE217 have indeed delivered another quality doom metal record which you can check at their Bandcamp page and listen for yourself (universe217.bandcamp.com/). In the end of the line "Never" is the face of denial and despair, a suffocating reality that has never ceased to exist.