Well I eventually got my hands on 'Westworld's' hard to find debut album and I'm certainly not disappointed, mind you as a band they really disappoint. Musically this is in the same vein as 'Skin' and 'Cyberdreams', perhaps a little rawer, even darker in places, but still crisp and very melodic as usual.

After a subtle keyboard intro, 'Illusions' opens as a carefree, mid tempo rocker, which highlights 'Tony Harnell's' sharp vocals and an interesting combination of light to heavyish guitaring from 'Mark Reale', the only part I'm not keen on is the broadcast style voiceover towards the end of the track. Better still is the hard rocking 'I Believe', a riff driven cracker supported by fantastic driving guitar work, sweet solos and mesmerising yet flowing rhythm that help make this the sharpest cut present. The pace falls for the well structured 'Pigeon Hole', a very melodic mid pace song full of diversity, that's braced by a great laid back yet slightly moody melody, 'Tony Harnell' on top form and some nice 'Reale' solos. The tempo falls even more for the ballad 'Heart Song', a wonderfully performed peace, which displays plenty of emotion throughout and some splendid yet subtle instrumentation, maybe 'Tony Harnell' sounds a little screechy towards the end, but still an impressive piece. 'Little Voice' follows and contrasts slow harmonious passages with more upbeat guitar driven sections, personally it's not one of the best song present but still a respectable effort. Back to their best is the stunningly penned 'Bring the Water to Me' and after a subtle acoustic intro, builds into a mid paced rocker, which includes a sublime catchy chorus, tasty guitar licks and more cracking vocals. Into slightly darker territory is 'Love you Insane' a multi layered track which balances plodding sections with lighter melodic passages, despite plenty of potential, losses a little direction mid track. 'Shame' ensues and after a winding melodic intro, develops into a powerfully sung mid tempo cracker, some sections have darker, mystical undercurrent that work superbly against the more harmonious vocal passages. Following strongly is the brilliantly written 'Ivory Towers', another cleverly structured song which hints at a ballad, but soon leaves you off balance when 'Mark Reale's' glorious guitar work kicks in. Last up is 'Suicide', in my opinion the weakest track present, a fairly lifeless, acoustic number that despite some decent lyrics, comes off a little dull, the closing vocal work really isn't necessary either.

'Mark Reale' and 'Tony Harnell' are both superb musicians and it's no surprise to me that they can come up with quality like this. 'Bruno Ravel' and 'John O'Reilly's' contributions to 'Westworld' are often overlooked, but definitely deserve credit as they always turn in faultless performances. If you like 'Westworld', it's well worth tracking down this debut, you won't be disappointed.