State of Euphoria is the fourth studio album by Anthrax. It was released on September 19, 1988, through Megaforce/Island Records.
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.
The album reached No. 30 on the Billboard 200 chart in late 1988 and was certified Gold by the RIAA on February 8, 1989. 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.
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.
Tracklist:
Side One
- Be All, End All
- Out of Sight, Out of Mind
- Make Me Laugh
- Antisocial (Trust cover)
- Who Cares Wins
Side Two
- Now It’s Dark
- Schism
- Misery Loves Company
- 13
- Fīnalē
Anthrax
Joey Belladonna: lead vocals
Dan Spitz: lead guitar, backing vocals
Scott Ian: rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Frank Bello: bass, backing vocals
Charlie Benante: drums
Additional musicians
Carol Freedman: cello
Production
Anthrax and Mark Dodson: production
Alex Perialas: engineering, associate production
Bridget Daly, Paul Speck: assistant engineering
Jon Zazula and Marsha Zazula: executive production
Don Brautigam, Mort Drucker: artwork
Gene Ambo: photography
