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Nightwish - Once



8.6 | 1403 votes |
Release date: 7 June 2004
Style: Symphonic power metal

Owners:

1624 have it
67 want it
4 trade it


01. Dark Chest Of Wonders
02. Wish I Had An Angel
03. Nemo
04. Planet Hell
05. Creek Mary's Blood
06. The Siren
07. Dead Gardens
08. Romanticide
09. Ghost Love Score
10. Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan
11. Higher Than Hope
12. White Night Fantasy [bonus]
13. Live To Tell The Tale [bonus]
14. Where Were You Last Night [Ankie Bagger cover] [bonus]
+ Nemo [video]

The Best Power Metal Album Of 2004

Staff review by
Deadsoulman
Rating:
6.5
Before hearing the 'Nemo' single, I was looking forward to this new album of Nightwish (one of my favourite bands by the way). After hearing this single I was even more looking forward to the full-length. After listening to Once a good dozen times, I realize I was so better-off before. I hate saying that, like almost all the fans it twists my bowels to criticize Nightwish, but Once is to me terribly disappointing. Maybe I've heard too much about it, about the use of an orchestra, about the heavier riffs, Tarja's best performance ever?

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published 30.06.2004 | Comments (67)

Guest review by
Spyroid
Rating:
9.5
I would say that this is something as uncommon as a perfect (when it comes to rating) album with flaws! I used to claim that every perfect album needs to have unity, and be totally free of any letdown songs/flaws. And Once, plus a handful other albums, are the exceptions to the rule of mine.

Nightwish are one of the most professional bands out there. When I listen to 'Once', I can't find any flaws at all in the musicianship. All the good songs are perfectly completed compositions and their lyrics are tastefull and interesting. The choirs and orchestra are perfectly blended with the really Heavy Metal riffs and drums, and the piano/keyboard pieces are great. Toumas is probably the reincarnation of Mozart and I would guess that his father is Howard Shore or Andrew Lloyd Webber. This is soundtrack metal at it's finest. Since I love cheesy epic soundtracks, this of course appeals to me!

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published 05.10.2007 | Comments (7)

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Comments: 40   Visited by: 1525 users
19.02.2020 - 09:06
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Written by Metal Rasputin on 18.02.2020 at 22:25

This is where my path with Nightwish pretty much ended. Younger fans don't even understand how hyped up Once was when it was released. Until this they had made two masterpieces and two great albums, in Finland they were now bigger than life itself and it was announced that songs from this album would be played in some major Hollywood flick (which turned out to be an Uwe Boll film. lol). This thing was destined to sell like crazy. And it sure did.

But yeah. This is where they pretty much commercialized their sound and cut the power metal awesomeness for good. Now it's all about utilizing a real symphonic orchestra and massive production values, but at the cost of any form of intensity. I remember being hugely disappointed with this one, none of the songs hit me like they should. They were epic, for sure, but they sounded so damn hollow and empty at this point. The song that really, really, REALLY pissed and turned me off was "Wish I Had an Angel" which is pretty much a techno song played with metal instruments. I still think that is the lowest point of their entire career musically.


I found this band whit video once i think I was 18, 19 it was good, but my friend who was bug cannibal corpse fan had angels album. He did not let me borrow it , he had well you know teenager and pictures. To me best NW albums are firts and latest (not upcoming)
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Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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29.03.2020 - 15:48
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
NIGHTWISH's Floor Jansen and Troy Donockley recently played the band's classic song "Nemo" as part of a Planet Rock acoustic session. Check out video footage below.

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Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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29.03.2020 - 23:28
Rating: 8
Cynic Metalhead
Paisa Vich Nasha
Written by Irritable Ted on 29.03.2020 at 17:58

Written by Bad English on 29.03.2020 at 15:48

NIGHTWISH's Floor Jansen and Troy Donockley recently played the band's classic song "Nemo" as part of a Planet Rock acoustic session. Check out video footage below.

Well that was better than anything I have heard off the new album.


That was better than anything I have heard since "Once".
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16.04.2020 - 22:45
abysss

At first I thought this was the worst Nightwish album as a whole, and although I immediately loved Songs like Dark Chest Of Wonders, Nemo and The Siren, I just could not get into the whole thing easily, It required multiple listenings to finally realize that this album is actually mindblowing.
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30.05.2020 - 22:48
Rating: 9
The Melting Snow

...and now we know this isn't the worst, but the 5th worst
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06.07.2022 - 04:24
Rating: 7
24emd
Theory Snob
Favourite early Nightwish album, great songs like Dark Chest of Wonders, Creek Mary's Blood, Ghost Love Score. But also some bad skippable songs... so.... 8.
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"I am too stupid to be human, and I lack common sense." - Proverbs 30:2
"Music? Well, it's just entertainment, folks!" - Devin Townsend

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13.01.2023 - 11:43
Rating: 9
nonZero

'Dark Chest Of Wonders' is probably my favourite Nightwish song.
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22.06.2023 - 18:18
Rating: 8
Ellrohir
Heaven Knight
Nostalgia. My metal journey started with this album.
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My rest seems now calm and deep
Finally I got my dead man sleep


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25.06.2023 - 15:38
Rating: 8
majormalfunction

Solid work. Great flow and the songs have a instant memorability. Many of the songs, while enjoyable, feels a bit idea-thin which I've often find to be a issue with Nightwish. Ghost Love Score is the best song here but I also want to mention Higher than Hope, Nemo and Dark Chest of Wonders.
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12.07.2023 - 09:20
Rating: 7
24emd
Theory Snob
Building off my post from last year... This is by far the best album of the Tarja era. They've hit such a good balance between simple poppier songs, and the more proggy big-orchestra stuff. The abovementioned songs "Dark Chest Of Wonders" and "Ghost Love Score" are absolutely outstanding, and I would also throw "Creek Mary's Blood" and "Nemo" in there too. None of the songs are irritating in a way, but the vast majority (despite being better than most of the previous albums) are still fairly meh, which is what causes me to give this album a 7.
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"I am too stupid to be human, and I lack common sense." - Proverbs 30:2
"Music? Well, it's just entertainment, folks!" - Devin Townsend

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