Likening Nero's first full length album to recording by such synth rock pioneers as Vangelis, Enigma and Jean Michelle Jarre is high praise in and of itself, but there's more to this London based duo's music than mere retro feel good music.

There's a power, an urgency, that is brought fully to bear with the application of some serious engineering and production techniques to music that could only be created by seriously talented and highly skilled musicians.

Enter Daniel Stephens and Joe Ray, the duo behind several very well received remixes including Blinded by the Lights in 2009. After revisualizing the work of others they're finally breaking out their own creations built from the ground up with help of many very familiar ingredients.

Welcome Reality is difficult to assign a specific genre to. It's predominantly a dance album with elements of dubstep, rave and whatever else revolves around them, with many sections that could be described as electro prog. Influences are too numerous to mention although the obvious ones would be the likes of Daft Punk, Crystal Method even Squarepusher, but nothing here relies on a specific artists or genre for too long.

Scorpions, for example, opens with a sustaining guitar sound remiscent of 80's goth music only to be transformed into a hypnotic dub based sequence illustrated with vocals from Alana Watson who also helps make My Eyes, Guilt and Promises some of the best tracks to come out of 2011.

Then there's Departures, the pompous arrogantly beautiful final track and one of several instrumentals on Welcome Reality that hopefully gives us a glimpse into the future direction of Nero.

Rating: 912,918 (out of a possible 1,000,000)

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