Charlie Benante has revealed that Anthrax are planning an expanded reissue of 1988 album ‘State Of Euphoria’ to mark its 30th anniversary. Best known for containing the live staple ‘Antisocial’, ‘State Of Euphoria’ also spawned ‘Make Me Laugh’, as well as fan favourite ‘Be All, End All’.
Speaking to eonmusic, Benante exclusively revealed plans to mark the landmark anniversary with an expanded edition set to feature demo versions of some of the tracks from the album. Said Charlie; “I’m actually working on that record now, an anniversary edition of it. I’m finding some interesting things in the vaults, in my own personal home set up”.
Detailing what the reissue might contain, the drummer continued: “Really, you’re going to see the evolution of a lot of those songs, how they came to be ‘that’, you know”.
Acknowledging the fact that Anthrax themselves have viewed the album less than favourably since its release, Benante admitted: “I know that we said a lot of shit about that record in the past. I mean, our biggest problem with that album I think, is we didn’t feel [we had] or have enough time to maybe nurture the songs, let them breather a little bit. We made a mistake in the sense that we didn’t put our foot down, and I think personally, artistically, I think that’s what our problem is with the record. Fans love that record, and I’m happy about that, but I think every artist has a record in their catalogue that they feel a little [lesser love for]”.
When asked if the album would arrive in 2018 in time for its thirtieth anniversary, Charlie said the he hoped it would see the light of day before then, commenting; “maybe sooner”, when pushed for a proposed release date.
Speaking to eonmusic in December 2015, Anthrax bassist Frank Bello echoed Benante’s thoughts on the ‘rushed’ nature of the record. Said Frank: “There’s definitely some great tracks on that record, but I don’t think that record’s finished. I think some of us in the band feel that way. I don’t feel that we had enough time to live with the songs. If we had more time instead of being booked on another f*****g tour, if we had more time just to cultivate and get those songs the way we really wanted them. I think we should have taken a little more time”.
He continued: “[It’s] just that record – only that record. If we had a little more time, some things would have been changed. That said, I still think that’s a ‘good’ Anthrax record – It’s definitely not my favourite, but it’s a good record”.