When my editor first told me about Neaera, I looked the band up and thought to myself, "German Melodic Death Metal?" The Melodic Death table has already been set by the Swedish gods, and though some German idols have already contributed to the majestic dinner (notably Burden of Grief), I just couldn't see Neaera coming up with a better Wurst (though I REALLY wanted to believe so). Nevertheless, after listening to Armamentarium, I am truly proud to say that that the record's final score will not be panelized for disappointing me.

I cannot begin to describe the things I didn't like about this album, but I will start by saying that for review purposes, I have acquired Neaera's debut album The Rising Tide of Oblivion, which, in my opinion, was pretty darn good (the reason why I wanted to believe that Armamentarium will contain some kickass tracks), and compared to it, Armamentarium is simply weak. The music on Armamentarium is "beat based," which means that instead of the guitarists playing a melody to the drummer's rhythm, the drummer plays the melody while the guitarists (and probably the bassist, I know I am slowly going deaf, but even my younger brother's fresh set of ears could not find him) play the same rhythm by interchanging three or four chords. Some might consider that musical style a good thing since the grim and frostbitten kings of the Norwegian Black Metal tundra used similar techniques, but there is one huge difference between the lords of frozen eternity and Neaera. The former had emotion and atmosphere put in their music---emotion this record lacks, though even if the emotion in Armamentarium was as powerful as an Iraqi roadside charge waiting for an American convoy, MELODIC Death Metal requires SOME sort of MELODY, which this CD is also short of. The vocals are horrific, in the sense that they sound like the generic "brooootal" Death Metal growl, but with no mojo (the best word I could come up with for that feeling when you raise your fist and say HM!) and emotion, though melodically, they fit the music just like wurst fits a holiday table.

No matter how bad the music is (to my relatively high standards) the lyrics simply put, are phenomenal. While "I am a metalhead, I have balls" lyrics are tiresome, Neaera serves a truly fine wurst with the lyrics on this album. The ideas of the songs are focused on one's internal struggles, though they reach a "point" instead of just saying "my life is sad" (which, sadly, is what a lot of bands do), and in retrospect, they buy a seat at the holy table of Melodic Death Metal (though on a side opposing the Swedes…). Furthermore, I think that the lyrics are an epic step up from the ones on The Rising Tide of Oblivion, a fact which serves to demonstrate that the band CAN improve, and with a little more work on the musical aspect of their next record, they could sit side by side with Tomas Lindberg and Anders Björler during the next Melodic Death Metal potluck.

Overall, this release suffers from too much redundancy and uninteresting "filler" riffs, though the lyrics are somewhat redeeming. For the band, this is a step down and to the side, as they changed and digressed at the same time (no sh*t!). Nevertheless, with all that hidden talent that can be viewed in the music of The Rising Tide of Oblivion and the lyrics of Armamentarium, it is obvious that the band has the potential of climbing to the top of the German scene and maybe even catching up with the Swedes.

Final Rating:
Without the lyrics: 5 out of 10.
With the lyrics: 6.5 out of 10.