WITHOUT WAVES is a band based in Chicago, Illinois, USA, and has a fusion sound of Jazz, Extreme Metal and Atmospheric Rock. Without any information supplied in their EPK (hint, hint, please), all I have to go on is a previous review I wrote on their 2017 album. I remember liking it, so let's see how the band had grown in the past five years. "Comedian" contains ten tracks. "Good Grief" opens the album. It begins with a staccato guitar and drum assault and some rhythmic vocals. Some melody enters during the chorus, but the guitar effects and vocal screams are totally devoid of it. "Experimental" might be a bit of an understatement. "Animal Kingdom" is four minutes of blasting, deafening Metal that will eat you alive, rip your flesh from your bones, and spat you out. Naples is a total beast on the kit, pounds so hard and fast while keeping perfect time. So far, these are two very angry tracks.

"Algorithm" opens with a steadier drum beat and some whispered vocals. The bass guitar kicks in along with another heavy, rhythmic riff. The near-jovial sound continues throughout the song, with moment of earth-shattering accents that could wake a corpse. "Set & Sleeping" is a longer track that begins with more punishing tones and vocal screams. The song settles just enough in the chorus to provide a brief reprieve of the brutal leanings. It carries forward this time with more melody coming through the concrete until a fade-out through the end. "Sleep Deep" begins with a combination of weighted rhythms with charming vocal tones, and an underlying element of darkness. The clean guitar tones are actually quite alluring.

"Do What Scares You" opens with a full assault of repeated gunfire on your ears. The vocals go from clean and smooth to deadly and impassioned in less than a blink of an eye. The clean vocals here are again quite nice but the dissonant tones behind them are in stark contrast. "Sleight in Shadows" features equal doses of easy-listening melodies and more brutal and technical tones. "Day 15" begins with soft, quiet, and tense tones...something is building in the background. The dreamy tones that follow are a bit surprising...I didn't expect a full-on melodic piece. It's dark but quite pleasing. "World Apart" opens with a sultry and smooth sound from the guitars. Kick your feet up and strum your blues away. The vocal harmonies also work very well in this song.

"Seven" closes the album. Opening with more atmospheric tones, the bass guitar begins to chug away with heavy thuds matched by the drums. Heavier elements come in but are displaced by dreamy ones. This song might represent the album the best. Given the unbridled beauty of the clean passages in their music, the band is clearly aware of melody and how to use it. The fact that they reserve as much as they do, tells me more about how the band wants the harsher elements to stand out. Their command over the tighter passages is quite impressive, and I would say that they are equally good at styles, and there is enough of both to keep the listener interested.