Illegal Foreign Object

I was 11 years old when Anthrax released State Of Euphoria, the band’s follow-up to the classic Among The Living. I wouldn’t hear the album until the following summer — the same day I had my first sip of alcohol (and received my first concussion).

By the summer of 1989, some friends had gotten deep into the skate scene. Regular trips to Gadzooks in the mall to five-finger stickers, keychains, and bearings was the norm. We’d scoop change out of the mall fountain, hit the skate shop, and while one of us stood on one side of the counter counting out change to the clerk for a sticker, the other guy would be on the other side slipping whatever was around the cash wrap into their pockets. Trading someone else’s wishes for wishes of our own!

 We also frequented a gas station that kept a small cassette tape spinner rack on (and a highly indifferent employee behind) the checkout counter. Between ’89-’90, I snagged at least 100 tapes from that place. From that rack, I slipped State Of Euphoria down the front of my pants (based entirely on how cool the cover looked).

The second we reached my friend’s house, we cranked “Be All, End All” (almost 35 years later, the cello intro still sets me off). After a few listens, several other dudes showed up, one with a bottle of vodka that he’d jacked from his dad’s liquor cabinet. Having never had a drop of alcohol, what better way to open those floodgates than by sharing a spiked orange juice carton among hooligans?! We weren’t the brightest of bulbs, but we made up for it by making incredibly stupid decisions. Wait…

Anyway…

My friend’s half-pipe was built right next to the slope of his house, giving everyone easy access to the roof. With his mom away running errands, his grandmother as deaf as a stump, and his dad off banging his secretary, we were free to sit atop the house and make as much noise as we wanted. State Of Euphoria filled the air (in more ways than one).

I was an awful skateboarder. When I tell you that all I could do on a board was avoid dying, that’s seriously all I do. No ollies, kickflips, or grinding of any kind — only staying clear of death. I didn’t even have my own board, just an old Dogtown deck my friend had passed down. Knowing this makes it all the more insane that it was on that hot-ass summer day in East Texas when I decided it would be a great idea to drop into my very first half-pipe.

“Schism” blared from the rooftop boombox. To that point, I’d been doing little more than playing DJ and taking my rotational sips of the screwdrivers we’d so lovingly made. Someone, I don’t recall who now, said, “Dude, Michael, you gonna do anything besides play music all day?” Considering I couldn’t even ollie without sacking myself in the nuts or twisting my ankle, I hadn’t planned on it. Testosterone and booze are quite the combo, though, and before I knew it, Danny Spitz was cranking out a blistering guitar solo, and I was standing atop a 6-foot ramp that I had no business looking down.

Dear reader, I didn’t drop in so much as I dropped like a sack of shit from the sky. When I landed, I slammed my head on the flat — the plywood, as you might assume, didn’t give way. Thankfully, I was wearing a helmet. After a minute, I was helped off to the side of the ramp (where I proceeded to vomit a substantial stream of Dayglo orange alcohol and Funyuns. My head was killing me, my vision was blurry, and I could no longer stand the assault on my ears that Anthrax was delivering. I went inside and lay on the couch until I mustered the will to bike dizzily home. I’d had enough of everything for the day.

That day was the last day I heard State Of Euphoria until I revisited it upon the release of Persistence Of Time. I hear what the guys in the band hear. In some ways, it feels rushed. After the surprise success of Spreading The Disease and Among The Living, Island Records was looking to capitalize with the band’s next release. Drummer Charlie Benante has said it’s the one album he feels didn’t get “finished”. “We were the only metal band on the label,” said Benante to Billboard. “From their side of the game, we were blowing up. And of course, what does a record company want to do but reap the benefits. And with the unexpected success of I’m The Man, it was a matter of seeing if we were gonna continue with the whole rap-rock thing or not. There was a lot of pressure for us.” Guitarist Scott Ian was even less kind, saying the album “sucks”. It doesn’t, but compared to the ’88 releases of the other bands from the Big Four of Thrash, Metallica’s …And Justice For All, Megadeth’s So Far, So Good… So What?, and Slayer’s South Of Heaven, State Of Euphoria is found wanting. Interestingly, all four albums were transitional moments for the bands — each would release bonafide departure classics the next time out of the gates. 

This isn’t to say it doesn’t have plenty of killer to go with the filler. “Be All, End All”, “Who Cares Win”, “Now It’s Dark”, and the Trust cover “Antisocial” are all headbangers. Still, there is a sheen to State Of Euphoria that wasn’t present on the band’s previous releases. Perhaps this was by design — the album was certified gold, selling more than 500,000 copies in the U.S. — but it lacks the rawness of earlier efforts, sounding almost robotic in parts.

State Of Euphoria was a pivotal album in my life. It isn’t my favorite thing the band has done, but it turned me into an Anthrax fan. In many ways, it’s a transitional album — the crossroads where the band shifted gears from hardcore thrash to the more mainstream metal they would perfect on Persistence Of Time and Sound Of White Noise.

Track List:

1. Be All, End All 9/10
2. Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind 7/10
3. Make Me Laugh 7/10
4. Antisocial (Trust cover) 10/10
5. Who Cares Win 9/10
6. Now It’s Dark 9/10
7. Schism 6/10
8. Misery Loves Company 8/10
9. 13 3/10
10. Fīnalē 9/10

Grade: 77