State of Euphoria

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State of Euphoria
Studio album by
Anthrax
ReleasedSeptember 19, 1988
RecordedApril–June 1988
StudioQuadradial Studios, Miami, Florida
GenreThrash metal
Length52:35
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 thrash metal band Anthrax. It was released on September 19, 1988 through Megaforce/Island Records.

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.[3] The album reached No. 30 on the Billboard 200 chart in late 1988 and was certified Gold by the RIAA on February 8, 1989.[4] 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 was years later made into simlish for the radio on The Sims PC game. 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[5]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal7/10[6]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[7]
Metal Forces10/10[8]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]

Although the album contains some of what would become Anthrax's best known songs such as "Antisocial", "Finale", and "Be All, End All", critical reception was lukewarm. 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.

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" (Instrumental)0:49
10."Fīnalē"5:47

Personnel

Band members
Additional musicians
Production

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[10] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[11] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[12] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ http://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Anthrax/Anti-Social/7583
  2. ^ a b c "Anthrax ('82 - '89)". metallipromo.com. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  3. ^ Scott Ian and Jon Weiderhorn (2014). I'm the Man: The Story of that Guy from Anthrax. Da Capo Press, p. 136
  4. ^ "RIAA Gold and Platinum Search Results". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
  5. ^ Huey, Steve. "Anthrax: State of Euphoria". AllMusic. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. p. 2006. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
  8. ^ Arnold, Neil (1988). "Anthrax: State of Euphoria". Metal Forces (31). Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  9. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. p. 20. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  10. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Anthrax – State of Euphoria". Music Canada.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ "American album certifications – Anthrax – State of Euphoria". Recording Industry Association of America.
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