Once (Nightwish album)
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox album Once is the fifth studio album by the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on 7 June 2004 by Spinefarm Records in Finland and Nuclear Blast in the rest of Europe. It is the fifth and last album to feature Tarja Turunen on lead vocals. The album cost nearly €250,000 to make<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (1,000,000 including the videos<ref name="MHammer">Template:Cite web</ref>), which made it Finland's most expensive recording ever until the release of Nightwish's next album, Dark Passion Play, which cost over €500,000 to produce.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of 2013, Once had sold 2.3 million copies worldwide, becoming Nightwish's most successful album to date. The remastering of the album was released on 6 August 2021.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Background
In a 2008 Kerrang! interview, Tuomas Holopainen remembered: "Doing this kind of really orchestral, symphonic stuff for four albums, you have to be prepared to take the next step and go 10 steps beyond, and that's how we ended up with the London Session Orchestra. At that time we also had the financial resources to do it. This was like our second breakthrough in a way; Oceanborn (1998) broke us, took us to the big league. Musically it was pretty laid-back from our side because everyone involved in the orchestra really knew their stuff, so we basically spent two days lying on the couch hearing all these people playing our songs, enjoying every moment. It was one of the most amazing experiences in my life. The first song they started to play was 'Ghost Love Score', we had no idea what to expect, and I just thought: This can't be happening!"<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Musical style
Template:More citations needed section The album continues the more streamlined musical approach first heard on Century Child, moving further away from the power metal-influenced sound of their previous albums into symphonic metal<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> with a slightly more mainstream, approachable feel. Once utilizes a full orchestra in nine of the eleven songs on the album; unlike Century Child, Nightwish chose an orchestra outside of Finland, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, which has been featured on every album released since.
Once is their second album to feature a full-length song in Finnish, "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan". The band added new elements to their music for this album, such as the chorus riff and synthesized drumbeat of "Wish I Had an Angel", and a long prayer chant, supposedly in the Lakota language, on "Creek Mary's Blood". However, a young member of the tribe and fluent Lakota speaker found that the lyrics Two-Hawks supposedly wrote in the language were 'nothing more than absolute gibberish.' This was later confirmed by David Little Elk, a certified Lakota language expert.<ref name=Ovington>Ovington, Jacob, "Nightwish collaborator denies allegations that his Oglala heritage is false Template:Webarchive" in The Dark Domain, 17 January 2013. Accessed 5 June 2015. "Upon listening to a song he contributed to, a young member of the tribe and fluent Lakota speaker found that the lyrics Two-Hawks supposedly wrote in the language were 'nothing more than absolute gibberish.' This was later confirmed by David Little Elk, a certified Lakota language expert."</ref>
The song "Ghost Love Score" was described by Hietala as follows: "I'm a big fan of old prog rock and this is a song that has a lot of different parts going on, and different atmospheres in different places in order to support the story. [...] My biggest influence from the prog world would be Jethro Tull, but I also love listening to Yes and Genesis and all those bands, and there's a correlation between the structures and the length of a lot of their songs and this one."<ref name="teamrock">Template:Cite web</ref>
"Dead Gardens" was the first song written for the album, and deals with a bout of writer's block Holopainen was having. After completing the song, Holopainen says the songs "started flowing like water", and writing the remainder of the album was simple. <ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The album's final track, "Higher Than Hope" is dedicated to Marc Brueland, a fan of the band who became friends with Holopainen. Brueland died of fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma in October 2003, and the track features narration by Brueland taken from an interview shortly after his first cancer surgery, when it seemed like he was in remission. Lyrically, the song deals with Brueland's illness, death, and its effects on Holopainen. <ref>https://invinciblestudios.com/marc.html</ref>
Artwork
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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Tour
Template:Main 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.<ref name="bio" >Template:Cite web</ref> Nightwish performed at the opening ceremony of the 2005 World Championships in Athletics, held in Helsinki.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Reception and legacy
During the first week of its release, Once entered the Finnish, German and Norwegian charts at number one,<ref name="fin"/><ref name="ger"/><ref name="nor"/> later topping the European Top 100 Albums chart.<ref name="euro"/> It was also the first Nightwish album to chart in the United States, reaching No. 42 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart,<ref name="US heat 2">Template:Cite magazine</ref> and the band's first album to chart in UK, reaching Template:Abbr 10 on the Rock Chart.<ref name="UK rock"/> In 2005, Once was ranked number 383 in Rock Hard magazine's book The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 2017, it was ranked 89th at Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Once has been certified double platinum in Finland,<ref name="ifpi fin"/> triple gold in Germany,<ref name="bvmi"/> and gold in Sweden.<ref name="ifpi swe"/> The single "Nemo" topped the charts in Finland<ref name="nemofin" >Template:Cite web</ref> and Hungary,<ref name="nemohun" >Template:Cite web</ref> and reached the top ten in four additional countries.<ref name="nemoger" >Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="nemonor" >Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="mouth" >Template:Cite web</ref> It remained on the UK Rock Chart for more than a year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> "Nemo" therefore remains their most successful single ever, and Once reached number 47 in the list of best-selling albums of all time in Finland.<ref>Statistics by IFPI Retrieved on 17 March 2009</ref> As of June 2013, the album had sold 2.3 million copies worldwide, Nightwish's best-selling album to date.<ref name="WW sales">Template:Cite web</ref>
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Tuomas Holopainen, except where noted; all music is composed by Holopainen, except where noted; all lead vocals by Tarja Turunen, except where noted. Template:Tracklist Template:Tracklist Template:Tracklist
Personnel
All information from the album booklet.<ref>(2004). "Once liner notes". In Once [CD booklet]. Spinefarm.</ref>
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Nightwish
- Tarja Turunen – vocals
- Tuomas Holopainen – keyboards
- Emppu Vuorinen – guitars
- Marko Hietala – bass, male vocals on tracks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 11
- Jukka Nevalainen – drums, percussion
Additional musicians
- Marc Brueland – narration on "Higher Than Hope"
- Jouni Hynynen – growling on "Dead Gardens"
- Sami Yli-Sirniö – sitar on "The Siren"
- John Two-Hawks – vocals and Native American flute on "Creek Mary's Blood"
- Olli Halonen – slide guitars
- Martin Loveday – cello on "The Siren"
- Sonia Slany – violin on "The Siren"
- London Philharmonic Orchestra – orchestral parts
- Jenny O'Grady – choirmaster
- Metro Voices – choir
- James Shearman – orchestra and choir conductor
- Gavyn Wright – orchestra leader
Production
- Tuomas Holopainen – producer, mixing
- Emppu Vuorinen – additional engineering
- Tero "TeeCee" Kinnunen – producer, engineer, mixing
- Mikko Karmila – engineer, mixing
- Mika Jussila – mastering
- Pip Williams – choir and orchestral arrangements
- James Collins – orchestral recordings engineer
- Aaron Price – assistant engineer
- Simon Goldfinch – assistant engineer
- Markus Mayer – cover art
- Toni Härkönen – photography
- Petteri Tyynelä – layout
Charts
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Weekly charts
| Chart (2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 32 |
| European Albums (Billboard)<ref name="euro">Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 1 |
| Swedish Hard Rock Albums (Sverigetopplistan)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 1 |
| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
|---|
Year-end charts
| Chart (2004) | Position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 72 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)<ref>The first list is the list of best-selling domestic albums of 2004 in Finland and the second is that of the best-selling foreign albums: | 1 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 20 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 37 |
| Swedish Albums & Compilations (Sverigetopplistan)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 47 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 34 |
Certifications and sales
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Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Catalog Template:Abbr | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finland | 7 June 2004 | Spinefarm | 981890-4<ref name="number" >Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Europe | Nuclear Blast | 27361 12912<ref name="number" /> | Released in four different editions | |
| Japan | 21 July 2004 | Template:Hlist | UICO-1067<ref name="number" /> | |
| Australia | 5 October 2004<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Roadrunner | RR 8216-2<ref name="number" /> | |
| New Zealand | ||||
| Canada | 168618217-2<ref name="number" /> | |||
| United States | ||||
| Brazil | 15 December 2004 | Template:Hlist | AK5000<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Argentina | 12 February 2005 | NEMS Enterprises | NEMS 335<ref name="number" /> | Released in two different editions |
| Japan | 3 December 2008<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:Hlist | UICY-91258 | Super Audio CD |
| Various | 6 August 2021 | Nuclear Blast | NE 4534 | Remastered version |