That's how you open a show!

Thank you for watching and I hope you all have a wonderful week! ❤

My favourite show opener. Dark Chest is incredible, and what a way for Floor to introduce herself to the Nightwish Army on the grand scale. To answer your question, yes there are lyrics within those chants at the beginning, amongst which are "once there was a child's heart"

Always nice to start the Day off with a NINA REACTION to NIGHTWISH CHOIR CHANTS .... " Once there was a childs dream Once there was a childs heart Once i knew all the tales Once i wished for this night "

Hey Nina 😊 Nightwish Army Germany here... just wanted to say Hi and thank you for sharing the love for my all-time-band in a quarter of a century ❤ And I've been lucky enough to see them live three times 😊 My youngest son grew up with hearing them at home and he went to his first Nightwish Concert with me when he was 12. Now he is 31 years old and every single time he comes visit me there is still our favorite music playing and he tells me he is home ❤. So, thanks again and keep on diving deeper into the Nightwish tale... I will follow! 🤘🌈💜- Rose - 🌹

"and there forever remains that change from g to e minor" Song of myself - Nightwish

Stephen King is one of Tuomas's favorite writers so perhaps not a coincidence. 7 days to the wolves is somehow linked to Kings book, maybe react to that next. Great performance from them, too, one of my favorites!

Nightwish , Ladies and Gentlemen !!! They have opened the Valhalla gates , and now the Valkyrie Goddess walks among us 🤘🤩🤘!!! This is one of three great openings from them ("Dark Chest Of Wonders", "Shudder Before The Beautiful" and now "Music" intro followed by "Noise" ), and yes that's the opening song in Wacken 2013, . This was Floor’s coming out party at Wacken with Nightwish. First time most of the crowd had ever seen or heard her with Nightwish, as she joined this tour when they were in the US and later South America, and hadn’t recorded and released any new music with her yet. Needless to say, she won them over immediately, capturing their souls from the getgo and not letting go for 15 songs. The whole show is fantastic. NWSU/FloorFan .

Thanks for really analyzing the song! Too many get just carried away by the music, and it's nice to hear some actual analysis about why it works so well.

They opened the show with this track. Right out of the gates to blow minds. The band and Floor are perfect for each other. Great reaction once again. Thanks!

Welcome back Nina. Yeah, Floor was introduced to the European audience with this wonderful opener. Floor Came. Floor Saw.. Floor Conquered 💥💥💥💥

What a perfectly balanced talent you are. I've met musician and composers that have a great ear for music and are talented at playing instruments but the fact you can sing and have great vocals as well just shows your talent. Thus said as a reactor to one of my favorite bands you always do them justice and we can't go wrong having your skilled opinion so for myself and many of us Thank you.

Hi Nina,always fun and informative to see and hear you.😘 I have to say,as a "retired " live sound engineer,i have seen a lot of live bands in my day's,but,this must be one of the most energetic openers i have seen. I know Floor was already +/- 10 months with the band,but man,what a confidence and presence this woman has ,when she entered the stage and mesmerising 82000 people. Floor really deserves her honorary name; Valkyrie queen.🤘

I really appreciate these reactions, competent and clear, and it is always a pleasure to see you

Your deep dives into Nightwish are the not only best but very well needed. Seeing Nightwish through your eyes, makes me fall in love with them all over again.

Great video. I so look forward to your analysis. Very informative and I learn so much while being entertained. Show opener. It was Floor's introduction to Nightwish's European fans. She had joined the tour 10 months earlier in North America and had only played shows their and in South America. They had played a few small shows before Wacken but this was her first big festival with Nightwish. There was a lot of anticipation in the crowd to see Nightwish's new singer. Many knew her from her bands After Forever and Revamp and were curious how they would sound together. Love how Marko and Emppu cross like drawing open a curtain to reveal Floor. She stroud out on stage and just grabbed the audience in her hand and never let go. One way you can tell this is early in the setlist is that Tuomas has his hat and jacket on. Hat is usually gone after the first song and the jacket after a couple of songs. Tuomas is a big fan of childhood and the imagination children possess. He hates that loss of innocence and wonder we have as we grow into adults. I can see this song as Tuomas lamenting what has been stolen from him (The one in the big blue is what the world stole from me), his dream world in the ocean (he is a big fan of the ocean, uses as a metaphor for refuge or place of peace) where he can explore all the stories in the dark chest of wonders from his youth. He is hoping to go on journey to reclaim that feeling and part of his life (This night will bring him back to me).

Love your analysis and commentary Nina. It was indeed the first song of this show. The band punched the crowd right in the gut, then Floor clutched their souls, and they never let go for another 15 songs. Keep exploring Nightwish Nina!

Yeeeeey nina! Keep em nightwish reactions coming!😍

This features one of my all-time favorite moments in live music ... after the bombastic opening, Marco and Emppu, in perfect timing, cross the stage right in front of Floor as she is introduced to Wacken as the new Nightwish singer. It was only months after her joining the band and this was the show's opener. The timing and the importance of this is only lost on those who have not followed this band. Love it! Always great, Nina! I love your every reaction!

This is the opening song of the set, however, if you listen to the final song, Last Ride of the Day (and all points in-between), there is no letup in the energy.

Best. Concert. Opener. Ever.

Great reaction and analysis!

Hello again Nina. This was one heck of a show opener... and Nightwish has opened shows with many wonderful performances over the years. Loved the whole thing and really enjoyed your reaction. Thank you.

Loved the commentary and analysis of this quite complex musical arrangement. Yes Nina, this was the opening song of the show. One of my favorites and so appropriate for the start of a live Nightwish journey. Their music is a "Dark Chest of Wonders"! However, not always dark in character. I think of the dark as representing the unknown, yet to be discovered aspect of their compositions. The choir chants are " Once there was a Childs dream Once there was a Childs heart" "Once I knew all the tales Once I wished for this night "

That was, in fact, the opener for the concert. I couldn't think of a better way to open. I didn't immediately get the references. In fact, I never fully understood the lyrics! Thanks for helping me with that!

Tuomas said himself he is a fan of Disney since he was 2 years old and that he feels like Peter Pan, he was 29 in that interview/documentary. also around the time Once was released Pirates of the Carribean was very popular. Tuomas easily was obsessed, he was dressing like Jack Sparrow during Once tour lol😂 The words that are not Ha!Ha! are ONCE THERE WAS A CHILD S DREAM ONCE THERE WAS A CHILD S HEART. ONCE I kNEW ALL THE TALES (2nd time) ONCE I WISHED FOR THIS NIGHT Girl, I haven’t listened to NW for 15 years and it is so fun watching your reactions.

This track comes out so well live and it feels that you are going on a long trip over the ocean. I really hope Nightwish make a come back live with an Orchestra.

Very erudite and comprehensive analysts - but surely one of the most significant observations is that not only is the set opening number but also an introduction to Nightwish with Floor to an Eropean audience eager to hear their new sound

One of their great show opening songs, it also opened the Helsinki 2005 concert (End of an Era DVD) with Tarja. It's the first track on the 2004 album, Once. The title words being on the dedication page of that Stephen King novel, was probably not a coincidence. Tuomas is well read, and has a reason or purpose for most, if not all, of what he does.

Just now saw this, I love your hoodie and the way you have your hands cozy in the hoodie sleeves is so adorable

This song was the opening track on the first Nightwish album I bought, so it does have a bit of a special place in my heart. The album is called 'Once', and since the word also appears in this song's chorus, I always thought it was a deliberate reference.

Just found your channel (subscribed) and have just finished watching all your Nightwish videos and enjoyed them a lot thank you. Nightwish are incredible, and even though you've done a bunch so far still tip of ice berg really. All their songs (literally imo) are epic and great and so broad in their sound.

It was indeed their show opener!

Turn on the subtitles for the chants. The passing chord between the Am and the C was an F. And infrequently Tuomas drops in a Dm - it just fits so perfectly you hardly even notice it.

I really appreciate how you break the songs down in these reactions - I'm completely musically illiterate, I know the band is special but I don't know why and I really enjoy when a singer/songwriter/professional musician's eyes light up in excitement at something, and then explains it so it makes sense.

As always Nina, you're delightful and your analysis is spot on.

Geez love your knowledge and professionalism Yes I've known Nightwish for years but there are not many reviewers with a such a knowledege

This is an Epic show opener. Go Floor. ❤❤❤❤

I love to see you are still surprised listening to Nightwish and Floor. Counting the days to the next one. 7 Days to the Wolves (Wembley is a great version) is as mentioned based upon Stephen King The Dark Tower

First song of a show before 80,000+ people, so I’m sure the adrenaline was pumping for the band and you can hear that in their performance.

Bravo dear Nina,great vocal FL❤❤R...big support from Serbia

That opening was kicking in the door, tearing the house down saying hi, this is Nightwish

Lovely reaction again. It is always an eyeopener for me to see and hear a native English speaking person, dive into the lyrics immediately. When I started to listen to (mostly English sung) music, I didn't understand a word of what has been sung. And I still have a hard time to get the lyrical meaning of a lot of songs and certainly not in the first hearing. Most important to me, is that the sound of the words and the voice are an instrument in the composition. In a way that is how I learned to listen to music. Now, much older and a bit more fluent in English, I will dive into the lyrics, but never at first listen. Poetry is even harder to "get to" the real thoughts of the writer and Tuomas is a real Poet and obviously, he reads a lot of English litrature. There are only a few songs by Nightwish that I understand so well, that I can have an opinion of what he means to say, but never at the first listen. I think I'm quick when I start to think about that after hearing a song for the 20th time. This was the opening of the show and one of the best openers existing. Nightwish also used this song as their opener in Helsinki 2004 when they recorded End of an Era. Greetings from the Netherlands

Wow, Nina, I've just checked out your music via link in the description - I'm enjoying it! Actually, I'm going to add it to my playlists. If all people as lazy as I am then you you should invite people to find that link! ☺

fantastic musical technics analysis, a pleasure

It WAS the first song. In fact, I think I'm pretty sure it was the first song Nightwish ever performed in Europe with Floor as a vocalist, so it was kind of her introduction for most folks. I'm sure the real fans will correct me if I'm wrong lol. LOVE your reaction, as always. Be well and thank you!

This was the very first Nightwish song I heard and I was immediately hooked.

we are here for Nightwish, and maybe your reaction. from Colorado.

I love the energy of this song and Floor is breathtaking with her power and beauty, so badass!! Thanks for reacting :D

Great reaction. Lyrically, think about how this meshes with 'Storytime'. The whole Imaginaerum album is thematically connected. And, yes, this is the show opener at Wacken. They're geniuses at set list construction. Thanks, Nina!

best show intro ever

Glad to see you coming back to Nightwish! Btw, “Wacken” is pronounced vah-ken (it’s a metal festival in Germany)

Welcome back to Nightwish! The Wacken opening song, did you see the pink inflatable guitar? Jukka, "Tsssht, Tsssht". 4:16 Emppu and Marko cross over, then Floor strides out on stage!

Floor needs a DNA test. She seems to be not from this world. ❤

Nice, Thank you (and glad you liked it) Greetings from NW-Army-Germany and SabatonFan

This is the show opener 1st song of 15

The choir chants are : - Once there was a child's dream - Once there was a child's heart -Once I knew all the tales -Once I wished for this night This is the opening track of the album called.. you guessed it.. " Once " haha 😃

Nina, Tuomas has connected Stephen King and his own life. So, lets dig into this, Tuomas writes from observation and experiences. You know he has some well used pseudonyms for himself in lyrics with references thereto, so when you have boy, poet, dreamer, writer/song writer or ocean soul in a lyric, it is Tuomas referencing himself. The dark chest did and maybe does still exist, Tuomas as a small child found it in his grand parents attic full of toys and story books that carried his imagination off in excitement to all manner of wondrous places. Therefore throughout this song Floor sings "of the one” in a very high head voice, just as you might expect from an excited small child, that being Tuomas himself. Now look at the lyrics again and it all makes sense, Tuomas never includes notes or lyrics that are "fillers" or embellishment, it is all there for a very good reason, sometimes almost impenetrable or ambiguous. "Of the one with pure heart, once so long ago", Tuomas the Peter Pan child.

Always a pleasure to hear you comments! ❤

Choir chants are not Wacken specific - and I'm sure you've been told it's Vacken. The best show will show you the same - Buenos Aires 2018. The chants vary in this song: "(Once, there was a child's heart(" or "(Once, I wished for this night")"

I have come to think of the dark chest of wonders for Tuomas as the box full of childhood fantasy stories, as in Disney. In the music video Tuomas made for his beautiful song; A lifetime of adventure (about Scrooge McDuck) it starts with the opening of a small dark sea chest, and ends with the chest closing again with a very Disney like musical outro. This song is well worth doing, with views of the orchestra and others playing and singing his music with Don Rosa, the Disney Animator drawing a scene.

Couple things- A: Dark Chest is a perennial show opener, and this WOA set is no exception. And 2: The audience (collaborators!) singing All the original studio choral backing tracks is a definitive characteristic of NW fandom. Perhaps never more prominent than at this show...(we were there) Another really nice one, Nina. Keep on keeping on! Cheers rl 🤘👹🤘

Tuomas does like Mr King's works. The song "Seven Days to the Wolves" was inspired partly by "The Wolves of Calla" by S. King.... The first word of this song by the choir is "Once"..... and this song was the first song on the last Tarja album - and which gave the album it's name. - "Once", 2004. Great album opener, great show-opener!

it was 2013 August 3rd 10.45 PM until 0:45AM .... True Metal Stage. a concert I never forget.

Ah this is one of my faves & I love singing it. Happy birthday to Floor for yesterday

It's possible that this song does have a Stephen King connection as a later song performed at Wembley 2015 called Seven Days to the Wolves is defined referencing him. And is a great song.

Thanks for opening the song. I liked the analysis.

The two choir parts are Once, there was a child's heart, and Once, I wished for this night

Opening performance of their Wacken 2013 set.

Yeey, my favourite analyser doing Nightwish again, great analysis again thanks. Tuomas often gets inspiration from different authors, and I believe Stephen King is one of his favourite authors.

Thanks for another great reaction! You might also want to listen to "While Your Lips Are Still Red" from the Wembley concert - vocally one of their best with Marko featured.

You can find the choir chants in subtitles of the music video if you used video from channel Nightwish Arena and simply enable closed captions. The video you want is titled "🎼 NIGHTWISH 🎶 Dark Chest Of Wonders 🎶 Live At Wacken 2013 ☢ FULL HD - CORRECT SPEED with Lyrics". The chants were: - Once there was a child’s dream - Once there was a child’s heart - Once I knew all the tales - Once I wished for this night

I love your reaction ❤

Tuomas Holopainen ( keys) songwriter,composer. Olet Paras.

Great reaction but then whats new.to be honest i cant stand reactors who pause all the time and then really add nothing but your reactions to me are brilliant and so informative that i appreciate and look forward to them

It's a great opening number. Floor must really have a good voice condition, the show lasts 1.5 to 2 hours but there is also a fan blowing in her face which is not all for blowing her hair. I have been told the stage smoke is very smelly and bad for the lungs, hence that big wind blower, which makes singing even harder! Floor is a 'beast'!

Nina,you truly are the ''Margot Robbie' of music,just with an English accent.You are so talented and such a sweet soul as well.What a treasure you are to us all !! Thank you !! ❤

Loving the reaction ms Schofield. Plus it's a good one for a wow counter, so I am not doubting if you enjoyed it ;-)

Hi Nina, greetings from Reading UK Yet another fantastic reaction, thank you 🥰 I do prefer the very deep dives, the deeper the better as far as I am concerned! This was indeed the show opening song The chant vocal lyrics were included in the lyrics you read out to us. If you listen back whilst looking at the lyrics you were referring to you will catch them 😉

This was written during Tarja Era. Opener for End of an Era concert as well

I would recommend checking out Sahara next, performed in Tampa, FL. Floor does some cool vocal things there that I think you would appreciate 😊 Also an interesting song that you will enjoy!

so cool how you can replay the song on the piano so quick, how was that book btw? been a while since i read stephen king

You are so incredibly quick! Floors blonde elven sister.

Is it not , in your video at 14:22 , a change from minor to major third, as a resolution ? The so called Picardy third if i am not mistaken ? I always loved that kinda classical resolution, the color changing there.

Happy Birthday Floor 💖

Nina,please,please,please do a cover of this song.......PLEASE !!!! 😍

5:44 Ghost Love Score strikes most listeners as having a "Pirates of the Caribbean" theme in it too.

That was the opening song! They started out with a bang!🤘🎸

This song was the concert/show opener for Nightwish in 2013 Wacken. Very nice job and great reaction. Love your reaction videos, but could i ask if there's any possibility to react little older Within Temptation songs? Like Angels, or Memories. And Dangerous song feature's Killswitch engage singer. Or previous one now i believe. That 9s a great tune

🎶 Nightwish Live at Wacken Open Air 2013 🎶 Correct speed - FullHD - Remastered 🎶( kzfaq.info/get/bejne/o-CTrJaSntecj2Q.html ) Setlist: 1. Dark Chest of Wonders, 2. Wish I Had an Angel, 3. She is My Sin, 4. Ghost River, 5. Ever Dream, 6. Storytime, 7. I Want My Tears Back, 8. Nemo, 9. Last of the Wilds, 10. Bless the Child, 11. Romanticide, 12. Amaranth, 13. Ghost Love Score, 14. Song of Myself, 15. Last Ride of the Day 🎶🎶🎶 Epic concert! 🎶🎶🎶 Audience in this concert was 82k+

UK Army popping in to peek in to the dark chest of wonders. Next time Nightwish tour would be happy to go see them together.

And right after this song comes "Wish I Had an Angel", another bomb, so you get a double power combo! 😎

Excellent reaction. New reactors (and some existing ones) should watch and see how a quality reaction, that adds value to the artwork, is done. NWA Philly

Very very beautiful, thank you, 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

This is definitely one of my favourite Nightwish songs from the Once album the last album that Tarja Turunen appeared on before she was fired by the band.

Just a thought about you doing a Nightwish song cover? Now that would blows some doors off? Would be good hear your vox and approach to a Nightwish masterpiece. 😁☠💥🤘oh by the way, the 'chants' are "Once there was" "A child's dream" - "Once there was" "A child's Heart" - "Once I knew" "All the tales" - "Once I wished" "For this Night"

My dad just watched this review with me and is a massive Stephen King fan. Your thought on the narrative is correct.

Always like your analysis and reaction. Can't wait for The Poet And The Pendulum 😀 Dark Chest of Wonders has kinda funny backstory. This is from their book, the timeline: 2003-04 when they were making the Once album: ---------------------------------------------- The rest of the Nighwish Famiglia had also learned to trust Tuomas' visions. "The band understands that the final versions sound nothing like the demos", Tuomas says. "I had to try and make them hear an orchestra and vocals here, a choir there, in order to convince them that it will sound good in the end. And no one ever said anything against it." "Tuomas can hear the kettledrums and choirs and orchestras in his head, but we can only hear the keyboards and the rhythm", Jukka laughs. "Although he tries to explain all those things, you really can't figure out what the song will sound like in the end. But you can't object, either. When we first went through the songs, I felt like there was no hit material on the album. Even 'Nemo' didn't catch me at first. Marco was initially completely dumbfounded by Tuomas' plans. "I often had to ask Tuomas what the hell is going on in the song", Marco laughs. "Like, 'Is this where the vocals will be? Is this the chorus?' I obviously needed some information about the backing tracks as well, to know where I could let it rip, and I often wondered would there even be room for anything else - like, 'How much stuff are you still going to layer on top of this?!" I was still feeling skeptical while we were doing the demo version of 'Dark Chest of Wonders', and I really didn't get the track until I heard the finished version. On the demo, Tarja's new singing style was still at a try-out phase, so you couldn't really hear the power in the song. But after proper production, the track changed quite radically and you could hear the point." Tero (engineering, producer since 1997) was another dissident not always convinced by Tuomas' ideas. "I was so wrong about 'Dark Chest of Wonders'", he admits. "I hated that song and I even suggested It'd be left out altogether, partly because the original lyrics had magic wands and stuff like that in them, but also because it sounded really messy. But once we got it on tape, I realized it sounded so good that it should be the opening track. I guess I was initially under the wrong impression that on this album, the band sort of...grows up."

I love the live versions, but there's also something to be said for the original studio versions. You can hear all the orchestra and choir so much better, and I always prefer that part of Nightwish.

The dark chest of wonders goes back to the Greeks and the legend of Pandora. When Pandora's box was opened all the evils of human life flew out, but one item was left at the bottom of the box. That was Hope. Derivative writers like King are not the sources of anything in Tuomas' universe. The classics of the western tradition are. BTW the choral motif isn't a Wacken performance thing, it is a motif of the album Once from which this song comes (along with Ghost Love Score and many others you may have heard).