Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 11, 2026

Welcome Reality

Welcome Reality is the debut album by British dubstep group Nero. A concept album, 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.

Last revised
Jul 11, 2026
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≈ 4 min
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Source
Wikipedia ↗
Welcome Reality
Studio album by
Nero
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

Welcome Reality is the debut album by British dubstep group Nero. A concept album,1 it was released first in Ireland on 12 August 20112 and the rest of the world on 15 August 2011 except Australia and New Zealand where it was released on 19 August 20113 on Chase & Status's MTA Records.4 The album has sold 120,000 copies in the United States as of July 2015.5

Critical response

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic68/1006
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStar1
Clash4/107
The GuardianStarStarStar8
MusicOMHStarStarStar9
PopMatters7/1010
Spin7/1011

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

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 tracks13
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 tracks14
No.TitleLength
15."Won't You (Be There)"4:03
16."Etude"4:17
17."Promises" (Skrillex and Nero Remix)4:28

Charts

Weekly charts

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 Albums (Billboard)25 6

Year-end charts

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

Certifications for Welcome Reality
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)29 Gold 35,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)30 Gold 7,500‡
United Kingdom (BPI)31 Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

References

  1. O'Brien, Jon. Welcome Reality at AllMusic
  2. "iTunes - Music - Welcome Reality by Nero". iTunes. 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. "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. Archived from the original on 6 September 2011. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  10. Schiller, Mike. "Nero: Welcome Reality < PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  11. "Nero, 'Welcome Reality' (MTA)". Spin. 23 August 2011. 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. 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 on 21/8/2011 – 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 on 21/8/2011 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  22. "Official Dance Albums Chart on 21/8/2011 – 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. "New Zealand album certifications – Nero – Welcome Reality". Radioscope. Retrieved 20 January 2025. Type Welcome Reality in the "Search:" field and press Enter.
  31. "British album certifications – Nero – Welcome Reality". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 January 2021. Select albums in the Formats field. Type Welcome Reality Nero in the "Search:" field.