State Of Euphoria

One of the original Big 4. Good early metal. Well written well played. Definitely worth a listen if you like harder music.

After experiencing a commercial and critical breakthrough with their 1987 effort, Among the Living, Anthrax faced some pretty strong expectations for a followup. Roughly a year and a half later, that followup was released in the form of State of Euphoria, which ended up catapulting Anthrax all the way to number 30 on the pop albums chart. It would also be their second consecutive album to receive a gold certification. But as I sit here and write this review, I can picture a sense of relative disappointment upon its initial release. The album seems as though it is trying to follow directly in its predecessor's footsteps. I can argue that it is essentially Among the Living's goofier, quirkier little brother based on the following two factors:1. The sonic template of the band was unchanged, besides a surprise use of cello at the bookends of opening cut "Be All, End All." This was probably great for fans who couldn't get enough of their pummeling riffs, but disappointing for critics who might have hoped for some real evolution.2. The lyrics sometimes discuss heavy themes, such as homelessness on "Who Cares Wins" and alcoholism on "Now It's Dark" - the latter of which was a problem that almost led to vocalist Joey B's undoing - but some of the social commentary comes off as outright comical. "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" and "Make Me Laugh" fall into the latter description when talking about narcissism and Evangelical preachers, respectively.Despite these shortcomings, one thing remains certain: the album is still rock solid from front to back. Anthrax never were the riff machines that their thrash metal peers in the bay area were, but their hard driving rhythms and powerful lead vocals create a sonically pleasing listen. Even if some of the material has a harder time sticking in the memory when compared with some of their other work, the music absolutely rages throughout the album's duration.If you enjoy any of the other Joey Belladonna-era Anthrax albums, buying this one won't ruin your sentiments. In fact, for the price that this album is being sold for on Amazon, I personally will say you have no reason not to pick it up. On the other hand, if you are just getting into Anthrax, the best way to start would be either Among the Living or Spreading the Disease. This record was also followed by a pair of dark and transitional masterpieces, Persistence of Time and the John Bush-fronted Sound of White Noise. But even if this record is the weak link of Anthrax's era of commercial success, it's still worth checking out.

I had this on cassette back in the day. I've always like Anthrax, and was pleased to find this album on CD at such a good price. An essential addition to the "Big Four" collection.

This was the follow up album to the classic "Among the Living" and doesn't stray to far from the sound perfected on the aforementioned album. It does go darker with the lyrics and less on the comic book/movie references of the past. It still has those fun references in abundance, but the lyrics also begin to deal with societal ills and religious hypocrisy (subject matter further explained on the next album). This is a great album overall and it is great addition to the golden era of Anthrax (the golden era of 80s thrash in general). It contains some of their most iconic songs including the amazing cover song "Antisocial". If your a fan of 80s thrash or Anthrax, you already own this album, but if you don't, buy it today!!!!1

Right after among the living, Anthrax delivers again. What impressive me the most is that every release is better than their previous.

This album was one of my favorite albums of the 80s, and hands down one of my personal top ten of all time. Over 30 years later and I'm still loving it. The sound/rifs on this album just stick with me! The band mentioned it was an unfinished work, but as afan I think it's perfect!! This album shows why they're still making music and relvent to thrash and metal today! You won't be disappointed with this one.

..this album was never really completed.And after all these years you can hear it within a few of the tracks.This isn't their best work at all but it is great considering it came out in a time when their genre was exploding and they had to get the album in stores asap.And doing things under the gun they came out with a good album with a few standout tracks like..be all end all...who cares wins and now its dark.Worth the money but it isnt their best work.

a truly great thrash yet still melodic album... even a track dedicated to the book Misery by Stephen King, i CANT recommend enough if you love old school thrash

Arrived safely in scheduled time - thanks

I have to give this 5 stars simply because it was the first Anthrax album I owned (sadly on cassette - although I believe that format is being fondly recalled now on account of it's VHS-style deletion). It is not their best but it is nowhere near as bad as their worst. Quality-wise it still stands securely within their 'Belladonna' releases from Spreading the Disease to Persistence of Time and has a great many excellent tracks, despite a slightly warmer sound and a lack of rawness that lent itself so well to their previous 2 efforts.'Be All...' and 'Out of Sight...' are very similar in tone, composition, length and subject matter. This is no bad thing as they are kind of also-ran classics. 'Making Me Laugh' is a classic and one of the highlights here, together with the excellent cover, 'Antisocial'. 'Who Cares Wins' is a little like 'Skeletons...' from Among the Living in quality and type of track. It's fast, quippy, frenetically played and is trademark Anthrax - but no cigar. 'Now It's Dark' is a belter of a song, and true to its name it is a very dark sounding song, lots of downtuned power chords and low bass - one of the highlights. 'Schism' is ok, a bit love it or hate it. 'Misery...' is a kind of inbetween song and is great if you've read 'Misery' by Stephen King as it comes across as very dark, but it's missing something. '13' is fine but merely a silly musical interlude and 'Finale' starts well but meanders out of control and gets rather tedious towards its far too lengthy timespan.In my eyes a classic for purely personal and cultural reasons. But their best was surprisingly just around the corner...

Great album

Compact Disc degli Anthrax State Of Euphoria, uscito nel lontano 1988 della band thrash metal di New York, conosciuta a livello mondiale per avere partecipato ai big Four insieme ai Metallica, Megadeth e Slayer. L'album si va ad inserire nella triade di Spreading the Disease e Among the Living gli album più conosciuti della band negli anni '80 periodo d'oro dell'heavy metal. La versione Antisocial cover fatta in origine da un gruppo Francese Trust e poi riprodotta Live dalla band insieme a Indians e Take the Time li ha resi una band molto seguita in ambito live.

waren das in den späten 80er Jahren für einen Typen wie mich.Diese LP erschien im Herbst des Jahres 1988 ungefähr zum Zeitpunkt von "...and Justice for all" der Metallicats und war/ist mdst genauso geil!Okay,wir wollen hier nicht über die Produktionen streiten denn die Anthrax ist um einiges homogener.Jeder einzelne Song(mit der Ausnahme des Jokes "13") ist grandios,die Platte muss man genauso wie die "Among the Living" aus dem Jahr zuvor im Schrank stehen haben.Rückblickend betrachtet war 1988 ein verdammt teures Jahr für einen damals 16-jährigen Schüler,der jede Platte im Original besitzen wollte.Es erschienen in dem Jahr noch überragende Alben von Iron Maiden,Crimson Glory,Danzig,Circus of Power,Slayer,Halloween,Acrophet,AC/DC,UFO,Lita Ford,Megadeth,King's X,Scorpions,Queensryche,Testament,Cinderella,Living Colour,Magnum,Blue Öyster Cult,King Diamond,Ozzy Osbourne,Suicidal Tendencies,Social Distortion,Ratt,Soundgarden,Manowar etc etc die man alle kaufen wollte..Nun,die ANTHRAX habe ich damals auf Schallplate gekauft und heute,über 29 Jahre später steht das Teil selbstverständlich immer noch in der Sammlung.Volle Punktzahl für diese LP!Jrooß an alle Metalheads!