Multi-Grammy Award-nominated hard rock titans Anthrax — Scott Ian (guitar), Charlie Benante (drums), Frank Bello (bass), Joey Belladonna(vocals) and Jonathan Donais (guitar) — will unleash their long-awaited twelth 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.” It proves apropos for such a complete body of work.
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.
For Cursum Perficio‘s first single and video, It’s For The Kids (see below), the quintet bulldoze the way for the album’s impact. 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.
The band dove into recording Cursum Perficio in earnest during 2022, working out of Dave Grohl‘s Studio 606 in Los Angeles. They carefully pieced together what would be this magnum opus, mining their history with reverence, delivering on fan expectations tenfold, and broadening the scope of their signature sound. Produced by Jay Ruston and Anthrax, the result is an album that’s as angry, aggressive, and alive as their most celebrated fare.
“It was quite a journey from the inception of this album to its completion,” Ian says. We were supposed to make this in 2020, but the universe had other plans for everyone. After the pandemic, we got to be a band again. When we started working on the record, we were just happy to be in a room together. It was so exciting that it was like being reborn in a way. All of that energy and emotion went into the music. The fear of being forced out of our lives and the joy of coming back together are present. The title Cursum Perficio feels like Anthrax. It resembled what we went through to get to the point of finishing the record.”
“There was an awful lot of growth between Worship Music in 2011 and Cursum Perficio,” Benante elaborated. “This album is a culmination of everything we’ve learned. I was watching a Marilyn Monroe documentary, and I saw “Cursum Perficio” written on a tile in her last home. When I found out what the phrase meant, it immediately clicked with me. We aren’t saying this is our last record, but our journey has come to an end. I believe we’ve completed the task.”
“We had to make Fistful Of Metal and Spreading The Disease to be able to write Among The Living,” Ian goes on. “In the same respect, it took Worship Music and For All Kings for us to be able to write Cursum Perficio. I very much compare this record to Among The Living.
“We left it all on the table,” agreed Bello. “We really know who we are as Anthrax, what turns us on, and what we need to do. I don’t think anybody knows what’s next, but we’re hungrier than ever. From here on out, we’re going to go full throttle for every f–king minute.”
“A friend of mine said, It’s For The Kids is a straight-up love letter to your fans,'” Ian adds. “That’s exactly what I wanted it to be. The album needed a four-minute thrash song that harkened back to our first era. Whether it’s the aggression or the big chorus, it represents all the best parts of Anthrax in a very angry four-minute package. For the video, we wanted to throw back to our Madhouse video — thematically it just made sense and this idea opened the door for us to share the experience with our fans. For all of us.”
“The video for It’s For the Kids turned out really well,” Benante says. “I don’t necessarily like doing videos and this one had elements of things that I really love. There were fans in it, they showed up, they enjoyed it, it made me enjoy the video just seeing them enjoy it. Hearing the song for the first time, their reaction to it, and just the interaction with them was just great. I think the director did a great job on it. It’s kind of a throwback to our first ever video, Madhouse. So I think fans are gonna see it and think ‘oh look at that, I see what they did.’ But yeah, great song and a great video. It’s For the Kids is one of the songs that I felt was so strong, and the riff behind it and the rhythm behind it was almost like a tug of war, it’s like a push-pull. It has this tension to it where the drums are just playing at a high pace speed, and the guitars are doing pretty much quarter notes with it. And the drums are just going full speed ahead. One of my favorite songs on the record and one of my favorite riffs. I really think this song is a gift to Anthrax fans who have been with us throughout the years. This basically is Anthrax at its best. Fast-paced, thrashing, melodic f–king metal.”
“When I hear certain tracks, I immediately go, ‘I want to do this song. It might have a shot,” Belladonna notes. “Even the first time I started singing a tune like Madhouse, I figured it was going to be a strong one. You just know. There’s a lot of variety to each of our records. To me, It’s For The Kids is nice, straight-up Anthrax. It has a lot of fire and a punch to it. Vocally, it’s really cooking. It was definitely fun to hammer down on this one and put a lot of drive into it.”
Donais states, “It’s For The Kids is a right-to-the-point thrasher. It’s fast, aggressive, catchy and definitely going to be a fun one live. I love the Madhouse-inspired throwback vibe of this video. Involving the fans and capturing their reactions to a new song adds some energy that really stands out.”
“I’m psyched for people to hear It’s For The Kids‘!’ Bello comments. “This is a heavy, driving song with a big hook chorus-a combination of classic Anthrax and current. I can’t wait to play it live. Had a (cold!) blast filming the video too. It’s a great, energy packed video with a bunch of amazing Anthrax fans having a good time on a freezing day in Pennsylvania. The metal kept us all warm.”
The Cursum Perficio track listing is as follows:
1. Persistence Of Memory
2. The Long Goodbye
3. It’s For The Kids
4. Everybody’s Got A Plan
5. The Edge Of Perfection
6. Infectious
7. NYC93
8. Cursum Perficio
9. T.O.M.B
10. Watch It Go
11. My Victory
One Response
Nice album art work…NOT.