"Ulgh!" was my first response to the overall song, with the not-quite-growl, not-quite-singing involved in it. What I did notice was I'd think it pretty if not for that part.
Still, I found myself returning to it every so often, drawn to the militaresque aspect of it. Reading the lyrics further drew me. "Tenth Man Down" embodies a contradiction that I've always thought must plague a number of soldiers: "Obey to kill to save yourself". But what if "This ain't my fight"?
With its violence (and the narrator's longing to die to escape), parents might not want their younger children to listen to this song. ("Today I killed; he was just a boy. The eight before him, I knew them all.") Hell is used as an adjective, and the instant of killing is called "the devil's instant".
Non-children, though, might appreciate the conflict and reminder not to wait "back home" "with eyes turned away." Whether you approve of war or not, at least consider and remember what soldiers sacrifice. The narrator of this song evidently wishes someone would kill him, causing him to be the "Tenth Man Down" after the nine he himself killed.
Taarja Turenen performs on her better end of opera-ish here, and whoever does the growlish singing does a good job expressing the fervent emotion of the soldier as he resents having to live with all those lives on his conscience for others' sakes. I don't like the choice much, but it does well-suit the song. Having the opera voice say "ain't", though, I'm not so sure about.
The music is likewise very on the better end of what I've heard from Nightwish. If you don't like heavy metal or… I'm not sure what… you won't like the song's sound, most likely. But maybe you'll at least appreciate the tasteful mixture.
If you don't like Nightwish, I suggest you at least check out the lyrics, as a non-political reminder of war's horrors in our age of PC avoidance of unpleasant topics unlinked to certain political agendas.
Music: 5/5
Vocal(s): 4/5
Overall: 9/10
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