Anthrax will release its long-awaited twelfth full-length studio album, Cursum Perficio, on September 18th through Megaforce in the U.S. and Nuclear Blast in Europe. It marks the band’s first record in ten years since 2016’s For All Kings, which debuted in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200. The phrase “Cursum Perficio” is Latin for “My journey has come to an end,” “My journey is over,” or “I complete my journey.”
The official music video for the LP’s second single, The Edge Of Perfection, can be seen below. The new single is highlighted by clean guitar echoes and cymbals that gently shake until a blastbeat blows open the doors. Guitars buzz like a motorboat on the River Styx, making waves through the darkness. In their wake, a crushing rhythm trails the melody of lead singer Joey Belladonna‘s lament, “My heart breaks…I’m on the edge…I’m on the edge of perfection.”
For the video, the multi-Grammy Award-nominated titans — Scott Ian (guitar),Charlie Benante (drums),Frank Bello (bass),Joey Belladonna (vocals) and Jonathan Donais (guitar) — teamed up with director and Academy Award winner Joel Harlow (Star Trek and Alice In Wonderland) to create a spectacular cinematic experience that takes the hero from a dream into an evening of magic where he encounters underworld evil, interspersed with live performance footage. The clip includes appearances from martial artist Wes Scarpias, actress Ashley Edner-Tancharoen, actor Troy James, actor and Academy Award-winning make-up and special effects creator Rick Baker, actor Rod Maxwell and actor Fedor Steer.
“It’s the apex predator of Anthrax songs,” grins Ian. “I think it’s the best song we’ve ever written and the best thing I’ve ever been a part of creatively. What’s the most powerful emotion that moves me more than anything? Of course it’s love. Nothing moves me like the deep feeling that I get from my wife and son. I’m living on that edge for the rest of my life. This is mine, but there are a lot of ways to ruin it. I’ve ruined it in past iterations of my life, but it got me to where I am. Love is perfection, and I like being on the edge of it. I don’t want everything to be about all of the same shit. This record has a whole bunch of love, a whole bunch of fun, and a little hate.”
Benante adds, “When I think about songs like Only and Indians, you know that you hit something and you can feel it. That’s the way I felt about The Edge Of Perfection.”
The Edge Of Perfection follows Cursum Perficio’s first single and video, It’s For The Kids. It’s a classic Anthrax ripper locked and loaded with buzzsaw-sharp riffs, explosive drumming, and a howling and head-banging hook. It undoubtedly has all the makings of a future live staple. Listen here and watch the official music video here.
Cursum Perficio will be available as a standard CD; Target exclusive CD with a fabric patch of the album cover; standard black double LP with pop-up gatefold; Target exclusive double LP, red zoetrope with pop up gatefold; Amazon exclusive double LP, purple zoetrope LP with pop-up gatefold; merch exclusive lilac vinyl double LP with pop-up gatefold; Metal Injection exclusive white vinyl double LP with pop-up gatefold; Talk Shop Live exclusive signed with red ripple vinyl double LP with pop-up gatefold; Indie exclusive – red, orange yellow vinyl double LP with pop-up gatefold. To pre-order/pre-save, click here.
For more details and track listing, please visit here.