Once: Special Edition

---

---

Customer reviews

review by: Trevor Hall date: 2009-04-15 rating:
once nightwish
Bought this after seeing the band play in London recently as they had played quite a lot from it.This is as good as Dark Passion Play which is saying something and the three extra tacks on this version are all really worth having.

---

review by: date: 2007-02-23 rating:
The greatest gothic opera CD ever!
This is the fantastic album from Finnish metal/opera band Nightwish. I've never associated gothic rock and catchy singalong songs until I heard this! I bought it after hearing the song "Nemo" expecting that to be the highlight of a lugubrious depressing album but I was proved wrong. It's uplifting and fast-paced (particularly "Dark Chest of Wonders") catchy and intellectual too. I was addicted to it (and still am) and of my vast music collection this is the album I go to when in need of a blast of good music. It is quite hard to define it's genre as it's opera, metal, gothic combined. Nightwish could be described as a more operatic version of Evanescence with a bit more oomph. I'm not knocking Evanescence but I think that they are ridiculously overrated and Nightwish is my preference. br /Here are a my reviews of the songs: br /1: Dark Chest Of Wonders - Brilliant! Perhaps the most uplifting catchiest songs I've ever heard and think this should have been a single. It summons up images of historical castles and architecture (not in a gloomy way)with it's operatic chanting and Tarja Turunens mellifluous vocals. 10/10 br / br /2: Wish I Had An Angel - This is a single and it is more heavy metal. It's rather catchy but it is not the best representation of their music. 8/10 br / br /3: Nemo - Nemo is Latin for "nobody" which Tarja is not for singing this amazing song! It's gloomy but awesome with the piano background and is slightly longer than the video version. Another classic. 10/10 br / br /4: Planet Hell: A great amalgamation of rock and opera metal. The choir is back and the switching between Tarja and Marco singing is spot on. 7/10 br / br /5: Creek Mary's Blood: This is the second longest song at 8:29 long. It is a soothing track with a Native American feel to it. Compared to "Ghost Love Score" however it is nowhere near that standard. 6/10 br / br /6: The Siren: This was released abroad as a single and is listenable but it is not worthy of repeated listening though playing the CD through you wouldn't skip it. 6/10 br / br /7: Dead Gardens: This has a rather goth rock feel to it and is a great song but darker. 7/10 br / br /8: Romanticide: This in my opinion is the worst song of the album which doesn't mean it's a bad song in itself but compared to the rest of the disc it's not worthy of many listens. 5/10 br / br /9: Ghost Love Score: EXCELLENT! This is the song that taught me not to skip something without giving it a chance. Ghost Love Score is the ten minute soul elevating opera extravaganza which you must hear!! It begins with the chanting choir and then becomes slow and tranquil for the first three minutes followed by a minute of slow and "final" sounding choirs humming quietly leading you to believe it's like it all through. Then after the first five and a half minutes have elapsed comes perhaps the most uplifting and unexpected two and a half minutes I've heard. You'll have to hear it to understand me. A definate 10/10 br / br /10: Kuolema Tekee Hajilopen: A slow peaceuful song in Finnish. It has a folk music acoustic theme. 7/10 br / br /11: Higher than Hope: The final song is another beautiful song demonstrating Tarja's vocal skills. 7/10 br / br /P.S: The songs are scored in comparison to each other: all the songs are great and Once is an essential purchase!

---

review by: dani date: 2006-06-04 rating:
Once is amazing!
This was the first Nightwish album I bought it is still my favourite [although Oceanborn is a close second]. I have to admit that when I first got it, it didn't appeal to me that much, but as I kept playing it I fell deeply in love with everything about it! br / br /Dark Chest Of Wonders is the first track on the album. The song grips you instantly with the words 'Once I had a dream this is it' whispered by Tarja. The into is very upbeat you find yourself wanting to dance around just because of it. After the amazing intro, you hear the choir belt out their lyrics then Tarja again as she leads them. This song is awesome. br / br /Wish I Had An Angel is one of the most commercial songs from Once. It was released as the second single it doesn't really sound like the 'standard' Nightwish. Although, still a very heavy song the lyrics, seductive as ever. br / br /Nemo, the first single release from the album is next. The beginning of this song is bound to enchant with Tuomas' lovely piano solo. You are then catapulted into a mixture of different instruments then Tarja sings. Great guitar riff in this song too by Emppu. br / br /Planet Hell is probably of the most angriest songs on the album. Starting off with strings, drums a choir you wouldn't believe what is going to happen. The song becomes very heavy you find yourself wanting to headbang along. The lyrics are very hauting quite scary for instance 'Save yourself let them suffer!' br / br /Creek Mary's Blood changes to direction of the album dramatically. This native Indian style ballad pulls you into the suffering that these people endured, along with Tarja's breath-taking vocals. John Two-Hawks even does some Indian chanting on this song for added affect. br / br /The Siren has a middle Eastern feel to it. I really didn't like this song at first, but as I played it more often, I grew to love it. I love the story about the myths of the sirens in this song Tarja Marco's vocals go great together. Tarja even does some throat singing for The Siren. br / br /Dead Gardens Romanticide are my least favourite songs from Once. They just don't have the edge like the rest of the songs do. They are both very heavy Romanticide is very dramatic, a sure song to headbang to. br / br /Ghost Love Score is the highest point of the album for me. Just over 10 minutes of pure epicness. [Not a word but oh well] Everything about it is breathtaking! The orchestra, the choir, Tarja's voice, the lyrics. I've seen this song live too, believe me, it doesn't disappoint. You must give Ghost Love Score a listen. You'll be completely captivated! br / br /Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan is abouslutely beautiful. The first time I heard this song, I wanted to cry! Tarja's voice in her native language is stunning filled with so much emotion. The title translates to Death Makes An Artist. br / br /Higher Than Hope is dedicated to a fan friend of Nightwish who sadly passed away. Tuomas wrote this song, but he never got to hear it. The lyrics are very emotional sad, but a beautiful all the same. Lovely song! br / br /White Night Fantasty is rather strange. It's nothing like what Nightwish have done before. I tend not to listen to this song as I dislike what Tarja had been made to do to her voice. Pretty lyrics though. br / br /Live To Tell The Tale is similar to Romanticide, a song that is heavy deserves a good headbanging to. br / br /As I have said, this is my favourite Nightwish album as it's the biggest they have ever done. The orchestra choir make it exremely special for the while you listen to it, you feel as though you have escaped the world you can just sit listen to some great music! br / br /Definitely worth 5 stars.

---

review by: Chris Read date: 2006-03-16 rating:
wow
The best cd i have heard since killswitch released Alive but not Breathing....pThink Rammstein riffs, Dream Theatre song writing/technical ability/variance with an over all Evenescense sound (although so so much better than them)pThis CD features a full choir and orchestra and it is simply breathtaking and as a major music fan is in my top 5 cd's of all time


review by: date: 2005-11-05 rating:
Once heard, never forgotten.
Nightwish have been around for a long time, but I didn't discover them until I lingered in the Metal section of HMV and picked up a cover which intrigued me. It showed a gothic statue of a angel, slumped over in despair. This is a representation of the content of this album; full of darkness and sadness, but also true celestial beauty.br You put 'Once' in the CD player, you switch it on. Within the first 45 seconds, the sheer, other-wordly splendour of this album whisks you away to another life. Nightwish combine heavy metal rifts with full orchestral score and the soaring vocals of classically trained frontwoman Tarja, and it sounds so right that you can't believe you've never listened to it before. br'Dark Chest of Wonders' opens the album in just the right way, with a whisper from Tarja, "Once I had a dream...and this is it..." dragging you into a different realm. This opener is loud, heavy, with a sombre choir and ecstatic verses. It takes you in just the right place for the infinitely great 'Wish I had an Angel,' in which Tarja shares her vocals with bassist Marco. The wistful 'Nemo' follows: got to be a highlight of the album, with a great video to match. Track 4, takes a while to start. There's a wonderful orchestral build up which wouldn't sound out of place in the fighting sequence of Disney's Mulan. (Compliment!) When the sound starts, you get a chaotic, exciting piece about our 'Planet Hell.' br'Creek Mary's Blood' recalls the tragic fate of the Native Americans. It's very unusual and unique, loads of ethnic percussion; it's a song which draws you in gently then won't let go. brThings take a more metal turn at 'The Siren,' which, as you'd expect from the name, has a very haunting, melodic, almost trance-like quality. And it has an electric violin, which sounds just brilliant!br'Dead Gardens' is a gentle song which grows on you, (like flowers!) while 'Romanticide' is one of the heaviest on the album, and does the same. After this...Ghost Love Score.brIt truly is a score, at 10 minutes long, and is undoubtedly the most marvelous thing Nightwish has ever done. The music is urgent, beautiful, like a fading dream which becomes a nightmare. The orchestra are amazing, and the simple message of this multi-layered song repeated again and again: 'My fall will be for you.' brThe next track is purely classical 'Kuolema Tekee Taireillijan', but I believe all Nightwish fans will enjoy hearing Tarja sing in her native language to this bitttersweet song. A deceptive, simple, acostic intro carries us into the final album track, and then the full power and force of 'Higher Than Hope' crashes down on you, a song with so much despair and anger and bewilderment that its really gives you chills. This is a superb song to bow out on.brHowever, if you order the Platinum Ediiton of 'Once,' you'll also get two great bonus tracks (they won't disappoint), the video for 'Nemo,' and a case which, to top it all off, is shiny and beautiful!brYou have to buy this album. I promise it will change your life.

---

Similar products

Dark Passion Play
Century Child
Wishmaster
Oceanborn
My Winter Storm (Special UK Edition)

---

Similar categories

Music . Styles . Pop . General AAS
Music . Styles . Rock . Indie Rock Punk . Goth
Music . Styles . Rock . General AAS
Music . Styles . Hard Rock Metal . Bestsellers
Music . Styles . Hard Rock Metal . Heavy Metal
Music . Styles . Hard Rock Metal . General AAS
Music . Substores . Regular Stores . Artist Pages Filter Nodes . Main Albums
Music . Refinements . Format (binding_browse-bin) . CD . CD Album

---