NERO - WELCOME REALITY REVIEW

The wait is finally over for all Nero fans, they dropped their debut album 'Welcome Reality' yesterday and I'm here to bring you my review of the duo's (Daniel Stephens and Joe Ray's) release. Off the back of their four highly successful single releases they have released this 19 track concept album (set in the year 2808.) Nero like their label mates Chase and Status know exactly how to create dubstep/DnB with catchy pop hooks (as their singles have showed) and this album is more of the same from them.

Read more after the jump.

The album begins with the intro '2808' which sets up perfectly for the symphony led 'Doomsday.' Doomsday is the sort of song that would be completely mad on a huge system in a rave but this can be said for the majority of the songs on the album. The next two tracks on the album are 'My Eyes' and the single 'Guilt' which features the haunting vocals of frequent collaborator Alana Watson. 'Fugue State' follows these two and many people are other the opinion that this track is on the album as a thank you to Chase and Status (in latin the word 'Fugue' is linked to the verb 'to chase.') Next up are two more of the recent singles 'Me & You' (another Alana collaboration) and 'Innocence' which I have to say for me is one of the standout tracks on the album, with its epic synth build up, dubstep wobble bass and haunting vocal sample. 'Crush On You,' 'Must Be The Feeling' and 'Reaching Out' are all remixes of 80's songs and these are also standout on the album for me. I first heard a Crush On You a few months ago and instantly loved it, its got a Skrillex style bass playing through out the tune and the way they flipped the vocals is just brilliant. The duo's recent number 1 'Promises' is next up and once again it features frequent collaboration Alana, it is another example of Nero's ability to create their rave lead productions but with catchy pop hooks.

You can listen to a mix of the album below.

For me this is just a start for Nero and I feel that if they keep on growing at the rate they are as artists then even the likes of Chase and Status should be worried. It seems that the duo are not afraid to experiment and push the boundaries, which is what makes their music great for me. I would give the album a solid 4.5/5, not perfect but not far of. I look forward to seeing what they can cook up in the future.

Overall - 4.5/5

Stand out tracks – 'Innocence,' 'Must Be The Feeling' and 'Reaching Out.'