State of Euphoria
Studio album by
Anthrax
ReleasedSeptember 19, 1988
RecordedApril–June 1988
StudioQuadradial Studios (Miami, Florida)
GenreThrash metal
Length52:47
LabelMegaforce, Island
ProducerAnthrax, Mark Dodson, Alex Perialas, Jon Zazula, Marsha Zazula
Anthrax chronology
Among the Living
(1987) 		State of Euphoria
(1988) 		Persistence of Time
(1990)
Singles from State of Euphoria
  1. "Make Me Laugh"
    Released: 1988
  2. "Antisocial"
    Released: March 6, 1989[1][2]

State of Euphoria is the fourth studio album by the American heavy metal band Anthrax. It was released on September 19, 1988, through Megaforce/Island Records.[3]

Album information

State of Euphoria was produced by Anthrax and Mark Dodson, with Alex Perialas engineering. Guitarist Scott Ian has been quoted as saying that the band hired Dodson to produce this album because of his work with Judas Priest and Metal Church.[4] The album reached No. 30 on the Billboard 200 chart in late 1988 and was certified Gold by the RIAA on February 8, 1989.[5] The songs "Who Cares Wins", dealing with the plight of the homeless, and "Antisocial" (a cover of the song by the French band Trust) were released as singles with accompanying music videos.

The song "Misery Loves Company" is based on the Stephen King novel Misery, while "Now It's Dark" was inspired by the David Lynch film Blue Velvet, specifically the behavior of the sexually depraved, self-asphyxiating, murderous sociopath Frank Booth, as played by Dennis Hopper. The song "Make Me Laugh" is critical of Jim and Tammy Fae Bakker and televangelism in general, a popular target of thrash metal bands of that period. The song specifically mentioned minutiae such as the air-conditioned doghouse and Christian amusement park. The majority of the album's music was composed by drummer Charlie Benante while lyrics were composed by rhythm guitarist Scott Ian.

The back cover of the album contains a parody picture of the band drawn by Mort Drucker, a caricaturist best known for his artwork in the magazine Mad.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal7/10[7]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[8]
Metal Forces10/10[9]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide[10]

Critical reception for the album was lukewarm upon its release. The album failed to live up to the expectations, commercial and otherwise, set by the band's previous releases, Spreading the Disease, Among the Living and the I'm the Man EP.

Aside from "Be All, End All" and "Antisocial", most of the songs on State of Euphoria have not appeared on the band's live setlists since the album's accompanying tour in 1988–1989. The only songs from this album that have never been played live at least once are "Schism", "Misery Loves Company" and "13". The members of Anthrax have since spoken about their mixed opinions on State of Euphoria, and drummer Charlie Benante has been quoted as saying that the band feels the album was not finished properly.[11][12]

Touring and promotion

Anthrax spent nearly a year touring in support of State of Euphoria. Prior to the album's release, the band supported Iron Maiden on their Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour in Europe, and opened for Ozzy Osbourne on his No Rest for the Wicked tour in the United States from November 1988 to January 1989. The band also opened for Metallica on their Damaged Justice tour.[2]

Anthrax continued touring in 1989, playing six shows in the UK with Living Colour in March, and headlining the Headbangers Ball Tour (with support from Helloween and Exodus) in April–May. Following the Headbangers Ball tour, Anthrax toured Europe with Suicidal Tendencies, King's X and M.O.D., which took place in June–July 1989.[2]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Anthrax, except "Antisocial" by Bernie Bonvoisin and Norbert Krief

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Be All, End All"6:22
2."Out of Sight, Out of Mind"5:13
3."Make Me Laugh"5:41
4."Antisocial" (Trust cover)4:27
5."Who Cares Wins"7:35
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."Now It's Dark"5:34
7."Schism"5:27
8."Misery Loves Company"5:40
9."13"0:49
10."Fīnalē"5:47
Total length:52:47

Personnel

Band members
Additional musicians
Production

Charts

Chart (1988-1989) Peak

position

Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] 82
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[14] 87
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[15] 57
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[16] 4
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] 15
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[18] 17
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[19] 21
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] 20
UK Albums (OCC)[21] 12
US Billboard 200[22] 30
Chart (2018) Peak

position

Scottish Albums (OCC)[23] 100
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[24] 22

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[25] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[27] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Anthrax - Anti-Social - Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives".
  2. ^ a b c "Anthrax ('82 - '89)". metallipromo.com. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  3. ^ "Anthrax - State Of Euphoria". Discogs. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  4. ^ Scott Ian and Jon Weiderhorn (2014). I'm the Man: The Story of that Guy from Anthrax. Da Capo Press, p. 136
  5. ^ "RIAA Gold and Platinum Search Results". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
  6. ^ Huey, Steve. "Anthrax: State of Euphoria". AllMusic. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  7. ^ Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 24. ISBN 978-1894959315.
  8. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. p. 2006. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  9. ^ Arnold, Neil (1988). "Anthrax: State of Euphoria". Metal Forces (31). Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  10. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. p. 20. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  11. ^ "ANTHRAX: 'State Of Euphoria' 30th-Anniversary Deluxe Reissue Details Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. 30 August 2018. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  12. ^ "ANTHRAX's CHARLIE BENANTE On 'State Of Euphoria' Album: 'All Of Us In The Band Felt That It Was Not Finished'". Blabbermouth.net. 20 September 2018. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  13. ^ "Chartifacts – Week Ending September 2 1990 (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 34)". Imgur.com (original document published by Australian Recording Industry Association). Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  14. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 8686". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  15. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Anthrax – State of Euphoria" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  16. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  17. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Anthrax – State of Euphoria" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  18. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Anthrax – State of Euphoria". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  19. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Anthrax – State of Euphoria". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  20. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Anthrax – State of Euphoria". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  21. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  22. ^ "Anthrax Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  23. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  24. ^ "Anthrax Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  25. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Anthrax – State of Euphoria". Music Canada.
  26. ^ "British album certifications – Anthrax – State of Euphoria". British Phonographic Industry.Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type State of Euphoria in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  27. ^ "American album certifications – Anthrax – State of Euphoria". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

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