''Once'' is the fifth studio album by
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
symphonic metal
Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitar ...
band
Nightwish
Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Neva ...
, released on 7 June 2004 by
Spinefarm Records
Spinefarm Records is a Finnish independent record label focusing mainly on heavy metal artists. It is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group.
History
Spinefarm Records was originally founded in 1990 by Riku Pääkkönen as a mail-order distrib ...
in Finland and
Nuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...
in the rest of Europe. It is the fifth and last album to feature
Tarja Turunen
Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen-Cabuli (born 17 August 1977), known professionally as Tarja Turunen or simply Tarja, is a Finnish heavy metal singer, best known as the former lead vocalist of Nightwish. She is a soprano with a three and a half o ...
on lead vocals. The album cost nearly €250,000 to make, (1,000,000 including the videos
) which made it Finland's most expensive recording ever until the release of Nightwish's next album, ''
Dark Passion Play
''Dark Passion Play'' is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 26 September 2007 by Spinefarm Records in Finland, 28 September by Nuclear Blast in Europe and 2 October 2007 by Roadrunner Records in th ...
'', which cost over €500,000 to produce. 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.
Background
In a 2008 ''
Kerrang!
''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...
'' interview,
Tuomas Holopainen
Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen (born 25 December 1976) is a Finnish songwriter, record producer and musician, best known as one of the founders and the leader, keyboardist and songwriter of symphonic metal band Nightwish. He has stated that hi ...
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
The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...
. 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!"
Musical style
The album continues the more streamlined musical approach first heard on ''
Century Child
''Century Child'' is the fourth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released in 2002 through Spinefarm Records in Finland, Drakkar Entertainment in the rest of Europe, Century Media Records in the US, and Toy's Factory ...
'', moving further away from the
power metal
Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...
-influenced sound of their previous albums into
symphonic metal
Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitar ...
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
The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...
, 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
"Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan" is the third single released from the album ''Once'' by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on November 24, 2004, by Spinefarm Records, together with the platinum edition of ''Once''. The single w ...
". The band added new elements to their music for this album, such as the chorus
riff
A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...
and synthesized drum-beat of "
Wish I Had an Angel
"Wish I Had An Angel" is the ninth single by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, the second from their fifth album '' Once''. The song features vocals by then-vocalist Tarja Turunen and bassist Marko Hietala. The song was still performed ...
", and a long prayer chant on "Creek Mary's Blood".
[Ovington, Jacob,]
Nightwish collaborator denies allegations that his Oglala heritage is false
" 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." 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
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
and all those bands, and there's a correlation between the structures and the length of a lot of their songs and this one."
Artwork
The angel on the album cover is a view of the
Angel of Grief
''Angel of Grief'' or the ''Weeping Angel'' is an 1894 sculpture by William Wetmore Story for the grave of his wife Emelyn Story at the Protestant Cemetery in Rome. Its full title bestowed by the creator was ''The Angel of Grief Weeping Over th ...
, a sculpture by
William Wetmore Story
William Wetmore Story (February 12, 1819 – October 7, 1895) was an American sculptor, art critic, poet, and editor.
Life and career
William Wetmore Story was the son of jurist Joseph Story and Sarah Waldo (Wetmore) Story. He graduated from H ...
. The original is in the
Protestant Cemetery of
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, Italy.
Tour
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
The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland (6 August 2005 – 14 August 2005), the site of the first IAAF ...
, held in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
.
Reception and legacy
During the first week of its release, ''Once'' entered the Finnish, German and Norwegian charts at number one,
later topping the
European Top 100 Albums
The European Top 100 Albums chart was the European adaptation of the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. It ran from March 1984 until December 2010. Also commonly referred to as Eurochart Top 100 Albums, the chart showcased the sales of an act in 19 E ...
chart.
It was also the first Nightwish album to chart in the United States, reaching No. 42 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 advertise ...
''
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...
chart,
and the band's first album to chart in UK, reaching 10 on the
Rock Chart.
In 2005, ''Once'' was ranked number 383 in ''
Rock Hard
"Rock Hard" is a single by the Beastie Boys, released by Def Jam Records on 12" in 1984. The track contains samples from the AC/DC song "Back in Black", which was used without obtaining legal permission, causing the record to be withdraw ...
'' magazine's book ''The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time''. In 2017, it was ranked 89th at ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
''
's "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".
''Once'' has been certified double platinum in Finland,
platinum in Germany,
gold in Sweden
The single "
Nemo
Nemo may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Games
* ''Nemo'' (arcade game), a 1990 arcade game by Capcom based on ''Little Nemo''
* NEMO (video game console), an unreleased console
Music
* Nemo (American band), an indie rock band
* Nemo ...
" topped the charts in Finland
and Hungary,
and reached the top ten in four additional countries.
It remained on the UK Rock Chart for more than a year. "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. As of June 2013, the album had sold 2.3 million copies worldwide, Nightwish's best-selling album to date.
Track listing
Personnel
All information from the album booklet.
[(2004). "''Once'' liner notes". In ''Once'' D booklet Spinefarm.]
Nightwish
*
Tarja Turunen
Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen-Cabuli (born 17 August 1977), known professionally as Tarja Turunen or simply Tarja, is a Finnish heavy metal singer, best known as the former lead vocalist of Nightwish. She is a soprano with a three and a half o ...
–
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
*
Tuomas Holopainen
Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen (born 25 December 1976) is a Finnish songwriter, record producer and musician, best known as one of the founders and the leader, keyboardist and songwriter of symphonic metal band Nightwish. He has stated that hi ...
–
keyboards
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
* Emppu Vuorinen –
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
s
*
Marko Hietala
Marko Tapani "Marco" Hietala (born 14 January 1966) is a Finnish heavy metal vocalist, bassist and songwriter. Internationally, he is best known as the former bassist, male vocalist and secondary composer to Tuomas Holopainen, of the symphonic ...
–
bass, male vocals on tracks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 11
*
Jukka Nevalainen
Jukka Antero "Julius" Nevalainen (born 21 April 1978, in Kitee, Finland) is the former drummer in the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish.
Personal life
He spent his early years in the city of Kitee. His music teacher at school told him t ...
–
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
,
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
Additional musicians
* Marc Brueland – narration on "Higher Than Hope"
*
Jouni Hynynen
Jouni Kalervo Hynynen (born 15 February 1970) is the guitarist/vocalist in Kotiteollisuus, a Finnish heavy metal band. He also writes the band's music along with his bandmates, and contributes majority of the lyrics. He has also written books, ho ...
–
growling on "Dead Gardens"
*
Sami Yli-Sirniö
Sami Yli-Sirniö (born 10 April 1972) is a Finnish musician. He is currently the lead guitarist of Finnish metal bands Waltari, Barren Earth and German thrash metal band Kreator. He spent part of his life in Germany and thus has strong ties with ...
–
sitar
The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...
on "
The Siren"
* John Two-Hawks – vocals and
Native American flute
The Native American flute is a flute that is held in front of the player, has open finger holes,
and has two chambers: one for collecting the breath of the player and a second chamber which creates sound.
The player breathes into one end of the ...
on "Creek Mary's Blood"
* Olli Halonen – slide guitars
* Martin Loveday – cello on "The Siren"
* Sonia Slaney – violin on "The Siren"
*
London Philharmonic Orchestra
The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...
–
orchestral parts
* Jenny O'Grady – choirmaster
*
Metro Voices
Metro Voices is a choir group based in London, England, that specialises in performing for the motion pictures. They work closely with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and with acclaimed British composer Craig Armstrong. They are known from the ...
–
choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
*
James Shearman
James Shearman is an English conductor, orchestrator, and composer. He is perhaps best known for his contributions to film scores including those for '' Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'', '' Aladdin'', ''Thor'', '' Manchester by the Sea' ...
– orchestra and choir conductor
*
Gavyn Wright
Gavyn Wright is a British violinist and orchestra leader with the London Session Orchestra and Penguin Cafe Orchestra.
He is best known for his orchestral arrangements on pop productions (including Elton John, Simply Red, Bush, Mecano, Oasis, ...
– 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
Philip Malcolm "Pip" Williams (born 7 October 1947) is a record producer, arranger and guitarist, best known for producing albums for Status Quo and The Moody Blues and acting as well as supervising the orchestra parts and orchestra arrangem ...
– 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
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications and sales
Release history
References
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Once (Nightwish Album)
2004 albums
Finnish-language albums
Nightwish albums
Nuclear Blast albums
Roadrunner Records albums
Spinefarm Records albums