''Welcome Reality'' is the debut album by British dubstep group

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

. A

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

, it was released first in Ireland on 12 August 2011 and the rest of the world on 15 August 2011 except Australia and New Zealand where it was released on 19 August 2011 on Chase & Status's MTA Records. The album has sold 120,000 copies in the United States as of July 2015.

Critical response

''Welcome Reality'' has received generally positive reviews. '' Spin'' gave the album a score of 7/10, and wrote, "Alana Watson gives

's robotic skronk a rare injection of humanity, and the U.K. producers are smart enough to build most of their debut full-length around her husky voice, skipping the sampled spasticity of

Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ, record producer, musician, singer. Raised in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he began his career in 2004 as the lead vocalist of the ...

in favor of

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining house music, funk, disco, tech ...

's melodic big beat, '80s-inspired electro, and stadium-sized mash-ups of squealing guitar and windy

synths A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis an ...

." Jeff Weiss, for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', found the album to be "As effective as it is predictable", stating "''Welcome Reality'' will inevitably soundtrack thousands of summer and fall blowouts". The album was not well received by '' Clash'', who stated that "''Welcome Reality'' is so in your face and predictable it feels like the musical equivalent of a

Michael Bay Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for making big-budget high-concept action films with fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of special eff ...

movie: loud, crass, periodically fun, but ultimately forgettable".

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control Nero (band) albums 2011 debut albums 2010s concept albums Mercury Records albums