UMUR
"State Of Euphoria" is the 4th full-length studio album by US, New York based thrash/heavy metal act Anthrax. The album was released through Megaforce Worldwide/Island Records in September 1988. The album release was preceded and followed up by a heavy touring schedule for the band, who toured almost constantly for a year, supporting artists like Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne, and Metallica, in addition to headlining a couple of their own tours. So it was indeed busy times for Anthrax, who understood the importance of riding the wave of success they achieved with the release of "Among The Living (1987)". The heavy touring activity in the wake of "Among The Living (1987)", meant the band didn´t have much time to write and rehearse the material for "State Of Euphoria", and they have often since expressed regrets that they let the label rush them into the recording studio, when they didn´t feel ready.
Other than a slightly weak production job (which you get used to quickly while listening to the album), "State Of Euphoria" doesn´t sound rushed to my ears though. Stylistically Anthrax pretty much continue the groove laden thrash/heavy metal style of "Among The Living (1987)", and while there aren´t as many standout tracks featured on "State Of Euphoria" compared to the material on the predecessor, there are still many powerful and memorable tracks featured on the album. The most well known track off the album is probably "Antisocial", which is a cover of French hard rock act Trust, but with English language lyrics replacing the original French lyrics. But tracks like "Be All, End All", "Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind", "Now It's Dark", "Misery Loves Company", and "Finale" also deserve a mention. The overall quality of the tracks is high throughout though.
As mentioned above the sound production could have been of a much better quality and it´s a clear downgrade compared to the production job on the predecessor. Once the album gets going, it´s of lesser importance, but it´s not something which speaks in the album´s favor. The musicianship is as usual on a high level from all involved. Powerful groove laden rhythm work, sharp riffs, and a Joey Belladonna in great vocal form, delivering relatively melodic vocal lines, over music that isn´t necessarily easy to create melodic vocal parts for. So while "State Of Euphoria" doesn´t exactly reach the heights of "Among The Living (1987)", it´s still a high quality release by Anthrax and a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.
