Nightwish - Once

Country: Finland      Genre: Neoclassical/Symphonic Metal, Power Metal

Nightwish’s newest release, Once, is one of my newer favorites. The acquisition of the same orchestra used on the Lord of the Rings soundtrack and a female-dominated choir on this recording transforms Once into an opus greater than the sum of its parts. It plays like a heavy metal soundtrack to a dark fantasy movie, and considering that it’s probably the last we’ll hear with singer Tarja Turunen, it’s certainly worthy of being called a grand finale.

Songs like the single “Wish I Had an Angel” and “Planet Hell” have the standard Nightwish formula of chunky guitars and catchy choruses, the choirs and orchestra serving as the icing on the cake. “Creek Mary’s Blood” brings a mellow Native American feel to the table, different from what Nightwish usually offers… complete with chanting, slide guitars, and bamboo flutes. “Nemo” and “Kuolema Tekee Tajteitijan” are sweetly delicate ballads in which Tarja’s voice shines. My favorite song, “Ghost Love Score,” has the sweeping feel of an epic saga, and the choir is at its pinnacle; it’s certainly the glittering gem in the diadem that is Once.

Bassist/male vocalist Marco Hietala’s voice is in top form; the sung parts are skillfully done and the gruff parts (I can’t really call it screaming) have just the right amount of growl and listen-ability for the overall sound. Tarja sounds gorgeous as always; her operatic voice is technically superb and emotionally convincing throughout. Her harmonies are tasteful yet appropriately grandiose, and are often complemented by the choir. Just a touch of programming adds to the overall dark soundtrack feel.

If you want technical miracles from your guitars, Nightwish isn’t the place to go, but the guitar sound is excellent for what they do and the riffs are always catchy. The elegantly heavy contrast between the chunky guitars and rhythm section and the delicate keyboards and orchestra is what I have come to love about Nightwish and other bands like them.

Additionally, this cd has two bonus tracks, “White Night Fantasy” and “Live to Tell the Tale,” and the video for “Wish I Had an Angel” as an enhanced element. I wasn’t crazy about the video, because it was just the band standing around and acting corny (here's where the cheese metal kicks in), but the two songs were just as good as the rest of the album and didn’t sound tacked on by any means.

In feel, I think Once is similar to Wishmaster, but with more production. Some bands do worse after being heavily produced, but Nightwish is definitely not one of them. This is their masterpiece, and I highly recommend it.

Reviewed by: Bianca Lindblad

I think I am the only Nightwish fan that feels let down with this release. I am not saying it is a bad album, I am saying I don't think it is as good as people and critics are making it out to be.

Let me start with what I like about the album. I like the production. I like the orchestra. I like the heavier and darker edge. I like Tarja's voice. That is basically the list of "likes" with any Nightwish release. That is what makes them Nightwish. The epic orchestral feel, the warm female vocals, the heavy riffs, etc. I wanted something new. This simply did not give me anything new besides the use of a full orchestra.

It sounds to me like they were giving Century Child another shot. They didn't progress at all with this album. It sounds like Century Child II with heavier guitars, an orchestra and fuller production values. Even some of the riffs are reused. I don't want the readers to think I am overly cynical. There are still some cool tunes on this album. "Creek Mary's Blood" is a standout tune because it does something relatively new. Other songs like "Dark Chest of Wonders", "Nemo", and "Romanticide" are pretty decent, standard Nightwish songs.

This album has enough solid material for Nightwish fans to sink their teeth into, I just feel the lack of progression stops me from dubbing this album the masterpiece everyone makes it out to be.

Reviewed by: Jake Rosenberg

Nightwish use very clear production, and one of the biggest orchestras ever used on a metal record to very good effect (I think only Therion and maybe Dimmu Borgir have used orchestras this big, and used them this well. I think we can all ignore the awful S&M). The main thing I'm amazed by is how heavy it is. Every song is very heavy, very epic and very catchy. Singer Tarja Turunen is one of the best female vocalists I've heard, even after listening to a lot of gothic music, and other metal bands using female vocals. She is one of the best I can think of now for sure. I like how you can hear her accent in her singing, which is bizarrely missing from singers like Ville Valo from H.I.M. Everyone in the band is very talented. The bass is pretty high in the mix and easy to hear which is nice. Band creator and leader Tuomas Holopainen definitely has a good ear for songs, and for writing beautiful melodies into the symphonic heaviness.

They definitely are a European metal band though, and I think most Americans probably wouldn't like their more power metal moments. I really like the way the symphonic elements combine and highlight the more heavy parts. I think they make use of the large symphony a lot better than Dimmu Borgir's Death Cult Armageddon. Nightwish are both heavy and epic and catchy and melodic, which I do like a lot. However, I must say I don't like the video on the CD very much. I know that doesn't impact the music itself, but I do want to say that it's a kind of a silly video. However, it's no where near as bad as Arch Enemy's on their new EP, which is truly bad.

This is on my top list of best albums of 2004 for sure, and I would highly suggest it to anyone with an open mind for really good metal.

 Album Score: 9.5 out of 10
Reviewed by: Karl Haikara