''Before the Storm'' is the debut studio album by Finnish DJ and record producer

Darude Toni-Ville Henrik Virtanen (; born July 17, 1975), better known by his stage name Darude (), is a Finnish DJ and record producer from Eura, Satakunta. His music is characterised by its progressive/uplifting style. He started making music in 19 ...

. It was released on 18 September 2000 by

16 Inch Records Jaakko Salovaara (born 13 January 1975), better known by his stage name JS16, is a Finnish musician, DJ and record producer. He is best known for his work with Finnish hip hop group Bomfunk MC's, producing their most successful song "Freestyl ...

. The album sold 800,000 copies worldwide and earned Darude three Finnish Grammy Awards. It also peaked on a number of charts, including number one on the

Finland's Official List The Official Finnish Charts ( fi, Suomen virallinen lista; sv, Finlands officiella lista) are national record charts in Finland compiled and published by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. The name ''Suomen virallinen lista/Finlands officiel ...

for albums.

Production and singles

''Before the Storm'' was produced by

JS16 Jaakko Salovaara (born 13 January 1975), better known by his stage name JS16, is a Finnish musician, DJ and record producer. He is best known for his work with Finnish hip hop group Bomfunk MC's, producing their most successful song "Freestyle ...

(Jaakko Salovaara), and features two of JS16's remixes. The album includes several singles, the first of which, "

Sandstorm A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are transp ...

", had been released prior to the album in 1999 to great success. Darude's second single, "

Feel the Beat "Feel the Beat" is a song by Finnish DJ and record producer Darude. It was released as the second single from his debut studio album '' Before the Storm''. It shares many similar musical elements to the first single, "Sandstorm", and achieved suc ...

", followed the success of "Sandstorm", reaching number one on the singles charts in Finland for 2 weeks and number 5 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Shortly after the album's release, Darude created a vocal edit of "Out of Control", and released it as a single; "

Out of Control (Back for More) "Out of Control (Back for More)" is a song by Finnish DJ and record producer Darude. The song is a vocal edit of "Out of Control", an instrumental from his debut studio album '' Before the Storm''. The edit was released on many re-releases of '' ...

". This single also charted in major countries and was re-released on several editions of the album.

Release and reception

The album sold 800,000 copies worldwide and earned Darude three Finnish Grammy Awards. It also peaked on a number of charts, including number one on the

for albums, number 6 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Dance/Electronic Albums Top Dance/Electronic Albums, Dance/Electronic Albums (formerly Top Electronic Albums) is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine which ranks the top-selling electronic music albums in the United States based on sales compiled by ...

chart and number 11 on the US Independent Albums chart. It also charted high on album charts in a number of other countries, including number 9 in Sweden, number 14 in Norway, number 18 in Canada, number 36 in Australia, and number 34 in France. Contrary to its chart success, ''Before the Storm'' received mixed reviews from critics.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

reviewer Antti J. Ravelin praised the album's singles, but criticised its "monotonality", claiming "''Before the Storm'' may work well on the dancefloor, but it is virtually impossible to listen to the whole album at home".

Track listing

Original release

Special edition

In 2001, 16 Inch Records re-released ''Before the Storm'' as a two-disc "Special edition".

Personnel

Adapted from CD liner notes. * Ville Virtanen (

) – writing, production, arrangement * Jaakko Salovaara (

) – writing, production, arrangement, remix, additional production, mixing * Marko Humpula – writing (track 2) * Mikko Kivari – writing (track 2) * Toni Lahde – writing (track 9) * Pauli Saastamoinen – mastering * Sampo Hanninen – artwork, cover design

Production and singles

Release and reception

Track listing

Original release

Special edition

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

See also

References

External links