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Once (Nightwish album)

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Untitled

Once is the fifth studio album of Finnish symphonic power 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.

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.[1]

Once is the last of the Nightwish studio albums to feature vocals by Tarja Turunen.

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. Is in number #14 of the best of all time albums in Finland.

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.[2]

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"). 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 following singles were: "Wish I Had an Angel" (featured on the soundtrack of the Alone in the Dark film), "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan" (released only in Finland and Japan) and "The Siren".

Once Upon a Tour

The success of the album allowed them to perform the Once World 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,[3] highlighting acclaim the band has recently gained.

Music style

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 Session 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.

Album cover

the original statue

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, even if 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.

Track listing

  • All lyrics by Holopainen, unless otherwise stated.
No. 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 — found on Roadrunner Records re-release, & Spinefarm's Platinum Edition 4:05
13. "Live to Tell the Tale" Holopainen Bonus Track — found on Spinefarm's Platinum Edition 5:02

Charts

Chart (2005) Peak
position 		Certification Sales
Austria Albums Chart 4
Belgium Albums Chart 30
German Albums Chart 1
Dutch Albums Chart 11
European Albums Chart 1
Finnish Albums Charts 1 (10w) 3x Platinum 106,000+[4]
France Albums Charts 9
Greek Albums Chart 1
Hungarian Albums Chart 1
Norway Albums Chart 1
Spanish Albums Chart 20
Sweden Albums Chart 3
Switzerland Albums Chart 4
UK Albums Chart 102
USA Top Heatseekers 42
World Top 40 13

Credits

Guests

Preceded by European Album Chart number one (1st run)
July 10, 2004 - July 16, 2004 		Succeeded by
Preceded by European Album Chart number one (2nd run)
July 24, 2004 - July 30, 2004 		Succeeded by

References

  1. ^ Spinefarm Label Information
  2. ^ Nightfall interview with Tuomas Holopainen
  3. ^ "Helsingin Sanomat". Helsinki skies open as World Championships get under way. Retrieved December 30 2005. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  4. ^ http://www.ifpi.fi/tilastot/artistit/nightwish
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