''State of Euphoria'' is the fourth studio album by the American heavy metal band

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

. It was released on September 19, 1988, through

Megaforce ''Megaforce'' (or ''MegaForce'') is a 1982 action film directed by former stuntman Hal Needham and written by James Whittaker, Albert S. Ruddy, Hal Needham and André Morgan based on a story by Robert S. Kachler. The film starred Barry Bos ...

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

. The album was the follow-up to the band's breakthrough album, ''

Among the Living ''Among the Living'' is the third studio album by American heavy metal music, heavy metal band Anthrax (American band), Anthrax. It was released on March 16, 1987, by Megaforce Records in the US and by Island Records in the rest of the world. T ...

'', and proved to be even more commercially successful, but less critically successful.

Background and Music

''State of Euphoria'' was produced by Anthrax and

Mark Dodson Mark Dodson may refer to: * Mark Dodson (record producer) * Mark Dodson (actor) Mark Dodson (February 1, 1960 – March 2, 2024) was an American voice actor. Career Dodson began his career in 1983. He voiced Salacious Crumb in ''Return of th ...

, with

Alex Perialas Alex Perialas is an American audio engineer, mixer, and record producer, best known for his extensive work during the "golden age" of thrash metal in the mid-1980s to early 1990s. Having worked with many of the genre's top acts, including Overkill ...

engineering. Guitarist

Scott Ian Scott Ian (born Scott Ian Rosenfeld, December 31, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist, lyricist and co-founder of the thrash metal band Anthrax (American band), Anthrax, of which he is the sole continuous member. Ia ...

has been quoted as saying that the band hired Dodson to produce this album because of his work with

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the p ...

and

Metal Church Metal Church is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in 1980. Originally based in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, they relocated to Aberdeen, Washington the following year and briefly called themselves Shrapnel. Led ...

. The song "Misery Loves Company" is based on the

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

novel '' Misery'', while "Now It's Dark" was inspired by the

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

film '' Blue Velvet'', specifically the behavior of the sexually depraved, self-asphyxiating, murderous sociopath Frank Booth, as played by

Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker, photographer and visual artist. He was considered one of the key figures of New Hollywood. He earned prizes from the Cannes Film Festival and Venice Internatio ...

. The song "Make Me Laugh" is critical of Jim and Tammy Fae Bakker and

televangelism Televangelism (from ''televangelist'', a blend of ''television'' and ''evangelist'') and occasionally termed radio evangelism or teleministry, denotes the utilization of media platforms, notably radio and television, for the marketing of relig ...

in general, a popular target of

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

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 Charles Lee Benante (born November 27, 1962) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for thrash metal band Anthrax (American band), Anthrax and crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death. Known as one of the pioneers of Bass drum, d ...

while lyrics were composed by rhythm guitarist

. The back cover of the album contains a parody picture of the band drawn by

Mort Drucker Morris "Mort" Drucker (March 22, 1929 – April 9, 2020) was an American caricaturist and comics artist best known as a contributor for over five decades in ''Mad (magazine), Mad'', where he specialized in satires on the leading feature film ...

, a caricaturist best known for his artwork in the magazine '' Mad''.

Release

The album was released on September 19, 1988. It proved to be even more commercially successful than its predecessor,

, reaching No. 30 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart in late 1988 and was the first time the band charted in Australia and Canada. It was certified Gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

on February 8, 1989. The songs "Who Cares Wins", dealing with the plight of

the homeless Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

, and " Antisocial" (a cover of the song by the French band

Trust Trust often refers to: * Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality It may also refer to: Business and law * Trust (law), a legal relationship in which one person holds property for another's benefit * Trust (bu ...

) were released as singles with accompanying

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

Reception

Critical reception for the album was lukewarm upon its release. The album failed to live up to the expectations, set by the band's previous releases, ''

Spreading the Disease ''Spreading the Disease'' is the second studio album by the American thrash metal band Anthrax. It was the band's first album to feature vocalist Joey Belladonna and bassist Frank Bello. A special two-disc edition of the album was released in 2 ...

'', ''

'' 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

has been quoted as saying that the band feels the album was not finished properly.

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 Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

on their

Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour was a concert tour by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden in 1988, in support of their seventh studio album, ''Seventh Son of a Seventh Son''. It was their last tour to feature the World Piece Tour-era lineup un ...

in Europe, and opened for

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

on his '' No Rest for the Wicked'' tour in the United States from November 1988 to January 1989. The band also opened for

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

on their

Damaged Justice Damaged Justice was the fourth concert tour by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It began on September 11, 1988, and ended on October 8, 1989. The name is believed to be inspired either by the cover of its fourth studio album '' ...And J ...

tour. Anthrax continued touring in 1989, playing six shows in the UK with

Living Colour Living Colour is an American rock music, rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. The band consists of guitarist Vernon Reid, lead vocalist Corey Glover, drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish who replaced Muzz Skillings in 1992. T ...

in March, and headlining the

Headbangers Ball Tour The Headbangers Ball Tour was a North American tour presented by MTV's Headbangers Ball, which took place in April and May 1989. It was headlined by American thrash metal band Anthrax, and supported by Exodus and Helloween. History The tour be ...

(with support from

Helloween Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. The band has at times been called one of the most influential European heavy metal bands of the 1980s. Its first ...

and

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

) in April–May. Following the Headbangers Ball tour, Anthrax toured Europe with

Suicidal Tendencies Suicidal Tendencies is an American crossover thrash band formed in 1980 in Venice, California, by vocalist Mike Muir. The band has undergone various lineup changes, with Muir as the only remaining original member. Their current lineup includes ...

King's X King's X is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Springfield, Missouri, in 1979. They were first called the Edge and later became Sneak Preview before settling on its current name in 1985. The band's current lineup has remained intact fo ...

and

M.O.D. M.O.D. (abbreviation for Method of Destruction) is an American crossover thrash band from New York City, fronted by Stormtroopers of Death vocalist Billy Milano. The band has been around for years (minus one hiatus from 1997 to 2001), and re ...

, which took place in June–July 1989.

Track listing

Personnel

;Band members *

Joey Belladonna Joey Belladonna (born Joseph Bellardini; October 13, 1960) is an American singer, best known as the vocalist for thrash metal music, thrash metal band Anthrax (American band), Anthrax. He is also the vocalist and drummer of the cover band Chief ...

– lead vocals *

Dan Spitz Daniel Alan Spitz (born January 28, 1963) is an American musician best known for his work as the lead guitarist of the thrash metal band Anthrax from 1983 to 1995 and from 2005 to 2007. Spitz also founded the Christian music group Red Lamb, w ...

– lead guitar, backing vocals *

– rhythm guitar, backing vocals *

Frank Bello Frank Bello (born July 9, 1965) is an American musician who plays bass for the thrash metal band Anthrax. He was also a member of Helmet from 2004 to 2005 and has been the touring bassist of Norwegian black metal band Satyricon since 2024. Earl ...

– bass, backing vocals *

– drums ;Additional musicians * Carol Freedman –

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

;Production * Anthrax and

–

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

–

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

, associate production * Bridget Daly, Paul Speck – assistant engineering *

Jon Zazula Jonathan Zazula (March 16, 1952 – February 1, 2022), also known as Jonny Z, was an American music industry executive who was the owner of New Jersey's Rock'n Roll Heaven record store and founder of record label Megaforce Records. Zazula's reco ...

and Marsha Zazula – executive production * Don Brautigam,

–

artwork A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

* Gene Ambo –

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:State Of Euphoria Anthrax (American band) albums Megaforce Records albums 1988 albums Albums produced by Mark Dodson Island Records albums Albums produced by Alex Perialas