Darude - Before the Storm [2001]

Another prodigy discovered by Finland’s wonder boy Jaakko Salovaara (also known as JS16), Darude (born Ville Virtanen) slowly started to conquer the dance world with two hit singles, “Sandstorm” and “Feel the Beat.” Those songs might be very attractive and rhythmic, but unfortunately Darude’s debut full-length doesn’t succeed quite as well. First of all, the main problem of Before the Storm is its monotony. Its entire content can be easily described by the two hit singles. The rest of album is mostly just a variation of that theme, and it just doesn’t work if you’re not on a dancefloor. This may be due to Jaakko Salovaara’s presence — JS16’s house is also monotonous; with no diversity whatsoever. Whether this is a good thing or not just depends on the context in which one hears the music. Darude’s debut album Before the Storm may work well on the dancefloor, but it is virtually impossible to listen to the whole album at home. Review by Antti J. Ravelin @ allmusic.com