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CD: Nightwish - Once	Released: 2004
Reviewed By: Dave Elder (FaceInTheSky)	Rating: (5/5)

Well, I'll just come out and say it. "Once" is the best Nightwish album to date, one of the best albums of 2004 and probably will go on to be one of the best albums of the decade.

"Once" Kicks things off with "Dark Chest of Wonders", A heavy, up tempo song that gets the listener ready for Nightwish's heaviest album to date.

The catchiest song on here is the 2nd track "Wish I Had An Angel", you can tell that Nightwish wrote this song to help get new people into the band. Now I know that sounds bad but the band doesn't stray and isn't some 'nu-metal' garbage or some hardcore crap. It's heavy metal with a nice beat that gets caught in your head. When I first heard this song I just couldn't stop listening to it. I was playing it almost nonstop for the first few days I had the album and even watched the music video of it on the disc (North American version has the music video for this song and 2 bonus tracks.)

Other heavy hitters on this album that make some of the tracks on Century Child seem a bit more tame are "Planet Hell", "Dead Gardens", and the awesome "Romanticide".

There are also some amazing epic songs on here like "Creek Mary's Blood". A song about Native Americans and features a Native America reading a poem in his native tongue. This is a very touching and moving song. Tarja's voice is top notch and it's some of her best work. Every moment of this song is enjoyable. If this song was on any of their albums it might be the best epic on that disc. But, "Once" has a song that outdoes this song. That song is "Ghost Love Score". One of their best songs in my opinion. Clocking in at a little over 10 minutes this song is beautiful from start to finish. The band managed to blend in the symphony (same one that worked on the Lord of the Ring films) into the song to give it an even grander feel. The chorus is something I could listen to all day long and not get tired of it.

There is also a song called "Kuoema Takee Taiteihijan" that is sung in Finnish and only features Tarja and the symphony backing her up. It's a very beautiful ballad even if you don't know Finnish. Tarja's voice is just hypnotizing.

Once again Nighwish outdoes themselves. Just when you think you can't top their last album they release a new album that does just that.