State Of Euphoria

“Be All End All” commences with the mournful tones of a cello, and even when the band materialize in a slow wave of dissonant chords, it’s clear that the album’s tone is one of brooding. Its centerpiece is the churning and smoky “Who Cares Wins,” a courageous but unflinching examination of homelessness in America: “Open your eyes to the horror/Open your eyes to the pain/When you live in a box/No one knows your name.” This wasn’t what the party-hearty heavy metal nation was seeking in 1988, which is part of the reason *State of Euphoria* gets passed over by some longtime followers. Regardless of how you feel about the band’s weightier material, the album still contains some of Anthrax\'s hardest-hitting anthems. “Antisocial” and “Out of Sight, Out of Mind” are galvanizing punk-propelled songs about anger and disaffection—the bread and butter of all metal and hardcore disciples. Meanwhile, the impressive “Make Me Laugh” features a downward-throttling riff almost identical to Metallica’s “One.”

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