# Once (Nightwish album)
**Once** is the fifth studio album by the Finnish symphonic metal band [Nightwish](https://www.edgepedia.org/nightwish), released on June 7, 2004 by [Nuclear Blast](https://www.edgepedia.org/nuclear-blast), and the last to feature [Tarja Turunen](https://www.edgepedia.org/tarja-turunen) on lead vocals.[1](https://record.club/releases/albums/nightwish-once) • [2](https://napalmrecords.com/english/nightwish-once-arctic-purple-lp.html) While Century Child had been the band's first album to feature a real orchestra, Once expanded on that approach by using the London Philharmonic Orchestra rather than synthesizers, and it became the band's most successful release, reaching number 1 in Germany, Finland, Norway, and Greece.[3](https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/files/268473696/Laaksonen.pdf) • [4](https://www.nightwish.com/news/nightwish-announces-once-remastered-release-2) • [15](https://www.metal-rules.com/interviews/NightwishCenturyChild.htm)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | June 7, 2004; Spinefarm Records in Finland, Nuclear Blast in the rest of Europe[1](https://record.club/releases/albums/nightwish-once) |
| Position in catalog | Fifth studio album; the last with Tarja Turunen as lead singer[1](https://record.club/releases/albums/nightwish-once) • [2](https://napalmrecords.com/english/nightwish-once-arctic-purple-lp.html) |
| Orchestra | First Nightwish album recorded with a real orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, instead of synthesized orchestration[3](https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/files/268473696/Laaksonen.pdf) |
| Chart peak | #1 in Germany, Finland, Norway, and Greece[4](https://www.nightwish.com/news/nightwish-announces-once-remastered-release-2) |
| Certifications | Triple platinum in Finland (over 90,000 CDs), triple gold in Germany (over 300,000 CDs), gold in Switzerland, Austria, and Norway[4](https://www.nightwish.com/news/nightwish-announces-once-remastered-release-2) |
| Sales | 2.3 million copies worldwide as of 2013, Nightwish's most successful album to date[1](https://record.club/releases/albums/nightwish-once) |
| Singles | "Nemo" (April 19, 2004), "Wish I Had An Angel" (September 20, 2004), "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan" (December 1, 2004), "The Siren" (July 23, 2005)[5](https://www.nightwish.com/releases/once) |
## Background and production
For Once the band took the step of hiring a real orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, building on the real symphony orchestra already used on Century Child, and covered the weighty recording costs themselves before licensing distribution globally.[3](https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/files/268473696/Laaksonen.pdf) • [15](https://www.metal-rules.com/interviews/NightwishCenturyChild.htm) The album was produced by keyboardist and chief songwriter [Tuomas Holopainen](https://www.edgepedia.org/tuomas-holopainen) together with Tero Kinnunen.[6](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/53910-nightwish-once.php)
The album's eleven tracks run just over an hour.[7](https://music.apple.com/us/album/once/1460471435) The tracklist is: "Dark Chest of Wonders", "Wish I Had An Angel", "Nemo", "Planet Hell", "Creek Mary's Blood", "The Siren", "Dead Gardens", "Romanticide", "Ghost Love Score", "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan", and "Higher Than Hope".[5](https://www.nightwish.com/releases/once) "Ghost Love Score", at 10:02, is the longest piece on the album.[8](https://nightwish.bandcamp.com/album/once?from=ritem-synthwailer) "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan" (Finnish for "death makes the artist") is sung in Finnish.[5](https://www.nightwish.com/releases/once)
The album opens with the line "Once I had a dream, and this is it", which the band later quoted when announcing the record's remastered re-release.[4](https://www.nightwish.com/news/nightwish-announces-once-remastered-release-2)
## Commercial performance
Once reached number 1 on the album charts in Germany, Finland, Norway, and Greece, and also hit #1 on the European album chart.[4](https://www.nightwish.com/news/nightwish-announces-once-remastered-release-2) • [3](https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/files/268473696/Laaksonen.pdf) It earned triple platinum status in Finland with more than 90,000 CDs sold, triple gold in Germany with more than 300,000 sold CDs, and gold status in Switzerland, Austria, and Norway.[4](https://www.nightwish.com/news/nightwish-announces-once-remastered-release-2) As of 2013 it had sold 2.3 million copies worldwide, making it Nightwish's most successful album to date.[1](https://record.club/releases/albums/nightwish-once) The release also sealed the band's long-term relationship with Nuclear Blast Records.[4](https://www.nightwish.com/news/nightwish-announces-once-remastered-release-2)
Four singles were drawn from the album: "Nemo" in April 2004, "Wish I Had An Angel" in September 2004, "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan" in December 2004, and "The Siren" in July 2005.[5](https://www.nightwish.com/releases/once)
## Reception
A PopMatters review scored it 70 and called it "a major step forward for the band, quite possibly their best album to date, and one of 2004's finest metal releases".[6](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/53910-nightwish-once.php) AllMusic also scored it 70, describing the band as rising above contemporaries "with soaring symphonic melodies grounded in solid metal musicianship".[9](https://www.allmusic.com/album/once-mw0000697591) On the aggregate site Album of the Year it holds a critic score of 70 (two reviews) and a user score of 80 based on 358 ratings.[6](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/53910-nightwish-once.php) Nuclear Blast's own promotional copy called it "Symphonic Metal in perfection".[10](https://www.nuclearblast.com/pages/album/once)
## Once Upon A Tour and Turunen's dismissal
The album was supported by the Once Upon A Tour. On the night of October 21, 2005, immediately after the tour's final show in Helsinki, the band handed Tarja Turunen a letter accusing her of putting her solo career above Nightwish and telling her she was fired.[11](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/biographies/celebrating-30-years-of-nightwish) She was the first of three lead vocalists the band has had in its thirty-year history.[12](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/bands/endings-create-new-beginnings-and-even-though-it-was-a-hard-decision-to-make-i-believe-there-is-a-bright-musical-journey-ahead-of-me-floor-jansen-has-exited-nightwish) A DVD of the era, *End of an Era*, was released in 2006 together with a biography by Mape Ollila titled *Once upon A Nightwish*.[13](https://www.nightwish.com/band)
## Later releases
On June 11, 2021, Nightwish announced a remastered re-release of Once with bonus tracks in various formats; Holopainen recalled "the excitement, the ambition, the comradeship, the triumphant tour to come" surrounding the original release.[4](https://www.nightwish.com/news/nightwish-announces-once-remastered-release-2) A limited remastered purple 2-LP gatefold edition followed on June 13, 2025.[2](https://napalmrecords.com/english/nightwish-once-arctic-purple-lp.html) Songs from the album remain fixtures of the band's live sets: "Dark Chest of Wonders", "Nemo", and "Ghost Love Score" all appear on the 2026 anniversary live collection *The Greatest 30 Years On Earth*.[14](https://www.nuclearblast.com/blogs/news/nightwish-celebrates-30-years-with-the-greatest-30-years-on-earth-massive-anniversary-release)
A note on the release date: most discographic sources, including Nuclear Blast, Bandcamp, and Apple Music, give June 7, 2004, while the band's own releases page lists May 31, 2004.[1](https://record.club/releases/albums/nightwish-once) • [5](https://www.nightwish.com/releases/once)
## References
1. [Once (2004) by Nightwish, Record Club](https://record.club/releases/albums/nightwish-once)
2. [NIGHTWISH - Once - Purple 2-LP, Napalm Records](https://napalmrecords.com/english/nightwish-once-arctic-purple-lp.html)
3. [Laaksonen et al., How to Support Fifty? (HTSF2010), University of Twente](https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/files/268473696/Laaksonen.pdf)
4. [Nightwish Announces "Once" Remastered Release!, Nightwish official website, June 11, 2021](https://www.nightwish.com/news/nightwish-announces-once-remastered-release-2)
5. [Once (Album), Nightwish official website](https://www.nightwish.com/releases/once)
6. [Nightwish - Once, Album of The Year](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/53910-nightwish-once.php)
7. [Once - Album by Nightwish, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/once/1460471435)
8. [Once by Nightwish, Bandcamp](https://nightwish.bandcamp.com/album/once?from=ritem-synthwailer)
9. [Nightwish: Once Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/once-mw0000697591)
10. [Nightwish - Once, Nuclear Blast](https://www.nuclearblast.com/pages/album/once)
11. [Celebrating 30 years of Nightwish, Louder](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/biographies/celebrating-30-years-of-nightwish)
12. [Floor Jansen has exited Nightwish, MusicRadar](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/bands/endings-create-new-beginnings-and-even-though-it-was-a-hard-decision-to-make-i-believe-there-is-a-bright-musical-journey-ahead-of-me-floor-jansen-has-exited-nightwish)
13. [Band, Nightwish official website](https://www.nightwish.com/band)
14. [NIGHTWISH Celebrates 30 Years with 'THE GREATEST 30 YEARS ON EARTH', Nuclear Blast](https://www.nuclearblast.com/blogs/news/nightwish-celebrates-30-years-with-the-greatest-30-years-on-earth-massive-anniversary-release)
15. [metal-rules.com](https://www.metal-rules.com/interviews/NightwishCenturyChild.htm)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Metal and hardcore albums › Power, symphonic, gothic, and progressive metal albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license