Customer Reviews

State of Euphoria

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

True thrashy, speedy, comical, humorous thrash metal!!! Anthrax may not have been as evil and fast and angry as Slayer or Sepultura or Sodom but they were just as good. The song "Antisocial" should be a thrash anthem right up there with classics like Slayer's "Raining Blood", Sepultura's "Inner Self", and Sodom's "Nuclear Winter". Anthrax was never as deadly of a band they took the more melodic end of the 80's thrash scene but they certainly weren't a commercial or trendy band. This proves that you dont have to be evil as hell (although that doesnt hurt) to be a succesful thras band. Anthrax!!

I was glad that I was able to find this CD and buy it, I had the cassette years ago, but wore the hell out of it. STATE OF EUPHORIA is metal classic that stands up there with anything released by METALLICA, MEGADETH OR SLAYER in the same time period. All these bands released albums the same years as this one, and ANTHRAX sometimes doesnt get the due they are owed. This album is filled with great lyrics, killer riffs and alot of energy. ANTHRAX has always been able to mix serious messages with some comical lyrics on their albums and they do here once again. BE ALL,END ALL, MAKE ME LAUGH, WHO CARES WINS are 3 songs that are serious but they just rock, FINALE is a funny song that with comical lyrics that also rocks. ANTISOCIAL is also a classic song that the band rocks out on. If you like fast furious music, then this is an album that u should own.

State of Euphoria is a high-paced, loud, and fun CD with many sarcastic undertones. In this album, the band's creative spirit is revealed, as they expound their liberal social theory. Each note on the album is carefully placed. The violently-fast pace of their music is never out of control. The band demonstrates their musical talents with quick, bold, and catchy riffs executed with near absolute rhythmic perfection.

This album is really a lot better than many give it credit for. OK, so maybe it's not my favorite Anthrax album, but it's essential in any Anthrax collection, lets just put it that way. You have to listen to it to know how cool it is, so why don't you just do that. I don't like reviewing stuff because I'm not good at it, so just buy this fun, unique thrash album.

Anthrax is an awesome band, and this is a very strong album from these thrash pioneers. Truly underrated album.

what a great anthrax album this turned out to be after their classic follow up to among the living.now this album is pretty damn weak....well just the production....but everything else kicks ass.as i said before joeys vocals are awsome as usual,guitars shred hear and their all over the place!!!.and lots of other things like more tributes such as stephen king.this album is kinda dumb to me cause it sounded like anthrax was getting into comic books,books,cartoons(maybe),etc..but everything else kicks and the best songs are:be all,end all,out of sight,out of mind,make me laugh,anti socail,now its dark....the only bad song was 13...ugh thank GOD it was short.anyways if your a big fan of anthrax and thrash metal...this is a must have in your collection!!.

In Joey Belladonna, Anthrax had one of the most distinctive singers in Thrash. The biggest problem with a voice as powerful and clean as Belladonna's was how the hell do you incorporate it into something as rough and ready as thrash? Well, it took the band three albums, but they finally hit the nail on the head with 'State Of Euphoria'.

Often criticised as Anthrax's weakest album, it is easy to see why many fans don't rate it. Production wise, it lacks the bite and punch of 'Spreading The Disease' and 'Among The Living', and is nowhere near as heavy as 'Persistence Of Time'. Scott Ian's signature rhythm guitar crunch has been strangled, and the drums are right up in the mix. It sounds like a bit of a mess, but it actually works, in an odd way.

Instead of the rhythm guitar leading the songs, as is more usual in Thrash, it's the vocals that point the songs in whatever direction they may be heading. Joey Belladonna's melodies shine through, and they are a pleasure to hear. Belladonna has an excellent vocal range and a clear voice, and easily pulls off a number of difficult passages and songs. Few other Thrash singers ever matched him, except perhaps Mark Oseguda from Death Angel.

The odd mix of the album make it far easier to appreciate Charlie Benante's drumming than on other Anthrax albums. While many Thrash fans worship Dave Lombardo and Gene Hoglan, Benante often ends up forgotten, rather unfairly.

Anthrax were called a band with a social conscience after previous songs like "Indians", and that aspect of the band was further developed here. "Who Cares Wins" in particular examines the plight of the homeless, and how easy it is for those living comfortably to ignore. Elsewhere, they take a poke at money grabbing evangelists, on "Make Me Laugh". While it's a tried and true, and clichéd, target now, it was innovative in 1988. Racism and prejudice also take a hit, with "Schism".

Anthrax have always had a dark sense of humour. The sarcasm through "Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind", "Finale" and Make Me Laugh" is biting. "Misery Loves Company" is funny in it's own way too, based on the Stephen King novel 'Misery'.

While not as immediately likeable as other Anthrax albums, this does deserve repeated listens. If it's not heavy enough or the production is annoying, mess with your graphic equaliser until it's fixed. It is worth the effort.

This is my favorite Anthrax album, EVER!! The song writing is catchy, with great inner-song changeups and progressions! I am baffled by the negative reviews of this album. I will never forget buying this tape on a choir trip in 6th grade (1988) and listening to it with my walkman on the buss. I bought it because I liked the album cover (lol) and had heard from older friends that Anthrax was heavy, thrash metal style (I was like 10 or 11 years old). The experience changed my life! I remember riding through the Tennessee mountains listening to State of Euphoria, absolutely mesmerized. Get it!!!

As much as I love Anthrax, it pains me to give this album a mere three stars, but dammit, it just doesn't deserve anything better than that. It's really kinda a shock how flawed this album is, considering how absolutely great the 2 albums just before it, and the 1 after it were, but it's definitely got some major problems, and is not in the same league as those other albums. Well actually, it's got one major problem, which is enough to cripple the album: the vocals are TERRIBLE. Joey is definitely off his game here, and he doesn't sound himself, but that's not the real problem. The real problem is that they came up with an absolutely wretched batch of vocal lines. Simply put, every song here except 'Be All, End All' and 'Antisocial' has at least one very prominent and very grating vocal line.(and plenty of them have more than that) The examples are endless: 'Don't think about anything' pretty much all of 'Make me Laugh', 'Your Mama's calling you' the verses to 'Now it's Dark' the chorus to 'Schism', and so on. The obnoxious vocals are particularly upsetting as they often result in a very grating, obnoxious chorus. Vox typically don't matter that much in thrash, so you can sometimes overlook them, but they were always more imporant in Anthrax's work, and much of the work here is just to irritating to be ignored.

This is particularly sad, because most other aspects of this album are pretty good, if not necessarily up to Anthrax's standards. 'Be All, End All' and 'Antisocial' are both great songs. Very catchy and melodic yet still very crunchy and intense. Thus, they're just classic Anthrax.(though 'Antisocial' is a cover, of course). And, the riffwork on this album is pretty solid. Not as good as Anthrax's other stuff, though. It's sorta a transitional album, so the riffs have lost some of the melodicism and bounciness you'd find in older Anthrax, but haven't yet got the full intensity, variety and complexity that you'd find on 'Persistence of Time'. But they're still pretty good, and could've made a very good thrash album. Charlie gives a nice performance too, as always. He's always been just about the most energetic, most propulsive drummer around, and he doesn't disappoint here. Still, they can't overcome the very rarely inspired, often irritating vocals.

Also, it has just about the most hideous cover art imaginable.

This album is still somewhat enjoyable, as evinced by my 3 star rating, but it definitely isn't truly mandatory for either the thrash fan in general, or the Anthrax fan in particular.

.. STATE OF EUPHORIA was a big letdown for me, esspesicaly after listening and loving ATL for so long. it gets two stars for the song anti social but thats it. i guess i'm not "that" into anthrax i guess, but ATL is one of my all time favorite cd's, ever. i really have no desire to listen to this anymore, after the second listen it was just stupid. this is crap compared to ATL.