Welcome Reality is the debut album by British dubstep group Nero. A concept album,[1] it was released first in Ireland on 12 August 2011[2] and the rest of the world on 15 August 2011 except Australia and New Zealand where it was released on 19 August 2011[3] on Chase & Status's MTA Records.[4] The album has sold 120,000 copies in the United States as of July 2015.[5]

Welcome Reality
Studio album by
Released12 August 2011 (2011-08-12)
Recorded6 October 2008 – 1 April 2011
Genre
Length61:10
Label
ProducerNero
Nero chronology
Welcome Reality
(2011)
Between II Worlds
(2015)
Alternative cover
2012 re-issue (Welcome Reality +)
Singles from Welcome Reality
  1. "Innocence"
    Released: 26 April 2010
  2. "Me and You"
    Released: 2 January 2011
  3. "Guilt"
    Released: 24 April 2011
  4. "Promises"
    Released: 5 August 2011
  5. "Crush on You"
    Released: 13 October 2011
  6. "Reaching Out"
    Released: 16 December 2011
  7. "Must Be the Feeling"
    Released: 5 March 2012
  8. "Won't You (Be There)"
    Released: 19 October 2012

Critical response

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic68/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [1]
Clash4/10[7]
The Guardian     [8]
MusicOMH     [9]
PopMatters7/10[10]
Spin7/10[11]

Welcome Reality has received generally positive reviews. Spin gave the album a score of 7/10, and wrote, "Alana Watson gives Nero'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 in favor of Daft Punk's melodic big beat, '80s-inspired electro, and stadium-sized mash-ups of squealing guitar and windy synths."[11] Jeff Weiss, for the Los Angeles Times, found the album to be "As effective as it is predictable", stating "Welcome Reality will inevitably soundtrack thousands of summer and fall blowouts".[12] 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 movie: loud, crass, periodically fun, but ultimately forgettable".[7]

Track listing

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Welcome Reality track listing
No.TitleLength
1."2808"1:53
2."Doomsday"4:12
3."My Eyes"4:41
4."Guilt"4:43
5."Fugue State"3:35
6."Me and You"4:08
7."Innocence"5:08
8."In the Way"3:57
9."Scorpions"5:56
10."Crush on You"4:10
11."Must Be the Feeling"4:03
12."Reaching Out"4:45
13."Promises"4:17
14."Departure"5:34
iTunes deluxe edition bonus tracks[13]
No.TitleLength
15."Angst" (inspired by Justice)4:51
16."Welcome Reality VIP"4:27
17."This Way" (album version)5:49
18."New Life"4:33
19."Choices" (album version)6:14
20."Symphony 2808"17:34
21."Symphony 2808" (Video)18:12
Welcome Reality + bonus tracks[14]
No.TitleLength
15."Won't You (Be There)"4:03
16."Etude"4:17
17."Promises" (Skrillex and Nero Remix)4:28

Charts

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Weekly charts

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Weekly chart performance for Welcome Reality
Chart (2011–2012) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] 12
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[16] 29
Irish Albums (IRMA)[17] 52
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[18] 32
Scottish Albums (OCC)[19] 2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] 88
UK Albums (OCC)[21] 1
UK Dance Albums (OCC)[22] 1
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[23] 6
US Top Current Albums (Billboard)[24] 178
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[25] 6

Year-end charts

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Year-end chart performance for Welcome Reality
Chart (2011) Position
UK Albums (OCC)[26] 98
Chart (2012) Position
UK Albums (OCC)[27] 186
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[28] 16

Certifications

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Certifications for Welcome Reality
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[29] Gold 35,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[30] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b O'Brien, Jon. Welcome Reality at AllMusic
  2. ^ "iTunes - Music - Welcome Reality by Nero". Itunes.apple.com. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  3. ^ "'Welcome Reality' release date, track listing and art work announced". Nero. 20 June 2011. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  4. ^ Sigel, Tego (11 April 2011). "Nero To Release Their Debut Album Welcome To Reality in August". RWDmag. Archived from the original on 25 June 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
  5. ^ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015.
  6. ^ "Welcome Reality Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Nero - Welcome Reality | Clash Music Latest Album Review". Clash. 15 August 2011. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  8. ^ Alexis Petridis (4 August 2011). "Nero: Welcome Reality - review | Music". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  9. ^ "Nero - Welcome Reality | album reviews". musicOMH. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  10. ^ Schiller, Mike. "Nero: Welcome Reality < PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  11. ^ a b "Nero, 'Welcome Reality' (MTA)". Spin. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  12. ^ "Album Review: Nero's 'Welcome Reality'". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. 2 August 2011. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  13. ^ "iTunes - Music - Welcome Reality (Deluxe Version) by Nero". Itunes.apple.com. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  14. ^ "Welcome Reality +". Amazon.com.
  15. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Nero – Welcome Reality". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  16. ^ "Ultratop.be – Nero – Welcome Reality" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Nero". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  18. ^ "Charts.nz – Nero – Welcome Reality". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  19. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  20. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Nero – Welcome Reality". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  21. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  22. ^ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  23. ^ "Nero Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  24. ^ "Nero Chart History: Current Album Sales". Billboard. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  25. ^ "Nero Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  26. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2011". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  27. ^ "End of Year 2012" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  28. ^ "Top Dance/Electronic Albums – Year-End 2012". Billboard. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  29. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2012 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  30. ^ "British album certifications – Nero – Welcome Reality". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 January 2021.