Once (Nightwish album)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Once | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Studio album by Nightwish | ||||
| Released |  June 7, 2004  October 5, 2004[1] |
|||
| Recorded | 2003–2004 | |||
| Genre | Symphonic power metal | |||
| Length | 60:07 | |||
| Label | Nuclear Blast, Spinefarm | |||
| Producer | Tuomas Holopainen, Tero Kinnunen | |||
| Professional reviews | ||||
|
||||
| Nightwish chronology | ||||
|
||||
Once is the fifth studio album of Finnish symphonic metal quintet Nightwish, released June 7, 2004 by Nuclear Blast Records. Spinefarm Records also released a platinum edition of this album on November 24, 2004, containing the original tracks in addition to Live to Tell the Tale, White Night Fantasy and the video for Nemo by Antti Jokinen. The North American version of Once contains the video for Wish I Had an Angel instead.
In an interview Tuomas Holopainen (main song writer of the band) said that it is up to the listener to find out the meaning of the title Once. Every name has a meaning — though, he doesn't feel comfortable talking about it.[10]
This is the last of the Nightwish studio albums to feature vocals by Tarja Turunen. Once utilizes a full orchestra in nine of the eleven songs on the album. Unlike Century Child, Nightwish decided to look for an orchestra outside of Finland this time, choosing the London Philharmonic Orchestra, which also features in their sixth studio album, Dark Passion Play. It is also their second album to feature a full-length song in Finnish, "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan" (English: "Death Makes an Artist").
Nightwish added a lot of new elements to their music for this album (probably best audible is the chorus riff and synthesized drum-beat of Wish I Had an Angel, or the long Native American prayer chant on Creek Mary's Blood) without losing their distinctive sound. One of the most important additions is that of a symphonic orchestra, namely, the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The song Ghost Love Score is an apt example of the combined work done by the orchestra and Nightwish, which the name hints at.
Contents |
[edit] Album cover
The angel on the album cover is a view of the Angel of Grief, a sculpture by William Wetmore Story. The original is in the Protestant Cemetery of Rome, Italy; there are several copies in the US. The statue shows an angel crying on the tomb of Story's wife; after his death, Story was buried under the same statue, close to his wife. It is also the cover of the goth metal/rock band Evanescence on their selftitled debut EP.
[edit] Reception
[edit] Commercial success
During the first week of its release, Once entered the German, Finnish, Norwegian and Greek charts as number one, selling over 80,000 copies in Germany alone. It was also the first Nightwish album to chart in the U.S., reaching #42 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart. It was also the band's first album to chart in UK, reaching #102. In May, Nemo was the first single to be released from this album, followed by Wish I Had an Angel in September, Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan (only in Finland) in November and The Siren in July 2005. The total sales of the album have been more than 1 million copies.[11] The making of the album costed nearly €250.000. [12]
Once has sold triple platinum in Finland, platinum in Germany, gold in Sweden and reached #1 in the Greek, Norwegian, Hungarian and European album charts. The single Nemo topped the charts in Finland and Hungary, and reached the top ten in five additional countries. "Nemo" therefore remains their most successful single release to date, and Once is in number #14 of the best of all time albums in Finland.
The success of the album allowed them to perform the Once Upon a Tour, which enabled them to play in many countries the band had never visited before. Nightwish performed at the opening ceremony of the 2005 World Championships in Athletics, held in Helsinki,[13] highlighting acclaim the band has recently gained.
[edit] Promotional tour
For to promote the album, Nightwish played Once Upon a Tour between June 24, 2004, and October 21, 2005. The success of the album allowed them to perform in many countries the band had never visited before, were Colombia, Ecuador, Scotland, Estonia, Greece, Romania, Denmark, Japan, Australia, Portugal and Slovenia. The band also made their first tour in the United States, with various sold out concerts;[14] the tour in the South America also had all the concerts sold out. A second tour for USA was planned, but it was cancelled for Tarja, that also cancelled some concerts in Australia. Nightwish performed at the opening ceremony of the 2005 World Championships in Athletics, held in Helsinki, highlighting acclaim the band has recently gained.[15]
After the tours in Europe and South America in the Autumn of 2004, and some separate gigs in December, the band had some time off in January 2005. In february, Nightwish won five awards in Emma-Gala Awards (Finnish Grammy), among the others they won awards for "The Band of the Year" and "The Best Selling Album of the Year".[16] Tuomas and Marco Hietala flew from European tour to Helsinki to receive the awards. In March, Nightwish performed the first time in Japan and Australia; in April and May, they had to have a break because of Tarja's other interests, but at the end of may the band started the tour again by playing with Iron Maiden in Poland and with Mötley Crüe in Norway.
During the Autumn 2005, Nightwish played several shows and performed in the legendary Hammersmith Apollo Venue for sold out seats, in London. The last show in the European tour was so far the biggest gig of their own, in Stuttgart, Germany, with an audience of 10 thousand. The final concert was played on 21 October for 11,500 people in Hartwall Areena in Helsinki. The concert was also recorded to be released as an End of an Era live DVD and CD.
"Dead Gardens" is the only song from the album which has not been performed live by the band ("Romanticide" was only performed with Anette Olzon on vocals in 2008). But Tarja has performed "Dead Gardens" on some of her solo concerts in 2008 and 2009.
[edit] Track listing
[edit] CD version
| # | Title | Writers | Notes | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dark Chest of Wonders" | Holopainen | 4:29 | |
| 2. | "Wish I Had an Angel" | Holopainen | The second single | 4:06 |
| 3. | "Nemo" | Holopainen | The first single | 4:36 |
| 4. | "Planet Hell" | Holopainen | 4:39 | |
| 5. | "Creek Mary's Blood" | Holopainen | Feat. John Two-Hawks | 8:30 |
| 6. | "The Siren" | Holopainen & Vuorinen | The fourth single | 4:45 |
| 7. | "Dead Gardens" | Holopainen | Feat. Jouni Hynynen | 4:28 |
| 8. | "Romanticide" | Holopainen & Hietala | 4:58 | |
| 9. | "Ghost Love Score" | Holopainen | 10:02 | |
| 10. | "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan" | Holopainen | The third single | 3:59 |
| 11. | "Higher Than Hope" | Hietala & Holopainen | Feat. Marc Brueland | 5:35 |
| 12. | "White Night Fantasy" | Holopainen | Bonus Track | 4:05 |
| 13. | "Live to Tell the Tale" | Holopainen | Bonus Track | 5:02 |
| 14. | "Where Were You Last Night" | Norell Oson Bard | Cover by Ankie Bagger | 3:52 |
[edit] DVD-audio version
In March 20, 2005, Nuclear Blast released Once in DVD-Audio version in audio formats of 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround.
| # | Title | Length | Writers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Dark Chest of Wonders" | 4:29 | Holopainen |
| 2 | "Wish I Had an Angel" | 4:06 | Holopainen |
| 3 | "Nemo" | 4:36 | Holopainen |
| 4 | "Planet Hell" | 4:39 | Holopainen |
| 5 | "Creek Mary's Blood" | 8:30 | Holopainen |
| 6 | "The Siren" | 4:45 | Holopainen & Vuorinen |
| 7 | "Dead Gardens" | 4:28 | Holopainen |
| 8 | "Romanticide" | 4:58 | Holopainen & Hietala |
| 9 | "Ghost Love Score" | 10:02 | Holopainen |
| 10 | "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan" | 3:59 | Holopainen, Vuorinen & Hietala |
| 11 | "Higher than Hope" | 3:35 | Holopainen & Hietala |
| 12 | "White Night Fantasy" | 4:05 | Holopainen |
| 13 | "Symphony Of Destruction" (Megadeth cover) | _ | Dave Mustaine |
| 14 | "Ghost Love Score" (orchestral version) | _ | Holopainen |
| 15 | "Creek Mary's Blood" (orchestral version) | _ | Holopainen |
[edit] Charts
| Chart | Peak Position |
|---|---|
Finland Hungary Germany Europe Greece Norway |
1 |
 Sweden |
3 |
 Austria Switzerland |
4 |
 France |
9 |
 Netherlands |
11 |
| World Top 40 | 13 |
 Spain |
20 |
 Belgium |
30 |
| United States |
42 |
 United Kingdom |
102 |
[edit] Credits
[edit] Personnel
- Tarja Turunen – Vocals
- Erno "Emppu" Vuorinen – Lead guitars
- Marco Hietala – Bass guitar, male vocals
- Tuomas Holopainen – Keyboards and Piano
- Jukka Nevalainen – Drums
[edit] Guests
- Marc Brueland - Spoken part in "Higher Than Hope"
- Jouni Hynynen - Growling in Dead Gardens
- John Two-Hawks - Vocals, Native American flute
- London Philharmonic Orchestra - Orchestra
- The Metro Voices - Choir
| Preceded by To The 5 Boroughs by Beastie Boys |
European Album Chart number one (1st run) July 10, 2004 - July 16, 2004 |
Succeeded by The Cure by The Cure |
| Preceded by The Cure by The Cure |
European Album Chart number one (2nd run) July 24, 2004 - July 30, 2004 |
Succeeded by Anastacia by Anastacia |
[edit] References
- ^ ""Once" Roadrunner release". Nightwish.com. http://www.nightwish.com/en/news/archive?month=09&year=2004. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ^ "Once: Nightwish". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:7e831vj5zzpa. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ^ "Nightwish- Once". Metalstorm.ee. http://www.metalstorm.ee/bands/album.php?album_id=2300. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ^ "Nightwish- Once". Progressiveworld.net. http://www.progressiveworld.net/proglife_oct31.html#nightwish. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ^ "Nightwish: Once". Seaoftranquility.org. http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=1904. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ^ "Nightwish - Once Nuclear Blast". Lordsofmetal.nl. http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/showreview.php?id=3848&lang=en. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ^ a b "NIGHTWISH: Once {Nuclear Blast/Mastertrax}". Themetalcircus.com/. http://www.themetalcircus.com/review.php?id=749. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ^ "Nightwish : Once/Nuclear Blast ( Mastertrax )". Metalsymphony.com/. http://www.metalsymphony.com/index.php?name=Reviews&req=showcontent&id=95. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ^ "Nightwish - Once". Metal-temple.com/. http://www.metal-temple.com/review.asp?id=510. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ^ "Nightfall interview with Tuomas Holopainen". Nightfall.co.nx. http://www.nightfall.co.nz/interview_detail.php?interviewID=52. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ^ Spinefarm Label Information
- ^ http://www.metalfromfinland.com/interviews/193
- ^ "Helsingin Sanomat". Helsinki skies open as World Championships get under way. http://www.helsinginsanomat.fi/english/article/Helsinki+skies+open+as+World+Championships+get+under+way%0D%0A/1101980518329. Retrieved December 30 2005.
- ^ "Nightwish on USA tour". Nightwish Oficial Website. http://www.nightwish.com/en/news/archive?month=01&year=2004. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
- ^ "Nightwish- Band History". Lyricsfreak.com. http://www.lyricsfreak.com/n/nightwish/biography.html. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
- ^ "NIGHTWISH Win Emma Awards For Best Finnish Artist And Most Sold Album 2005". Bravewords.com. http://www.bravewords.com/news/40952. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
