Anthrax have released Cursum Perficio, their twelfth studio album and the first they have issued in a decade. The Latin title translates as “my journey has come to an end”, and the band have spent the entire campaign refusing to say whether they mean it.
The album arrived on September 18 through Megaforce in the United States and Nuclear Blast in Europe. It follows For All Kings, released on February 26, 2016, which debuted inside the top ten of the Billboard 200. The ten-year wait is the longest between albums in the band’s 45-year history.
Drummer Charlie Benante has said the record is not necessarily the band’s last. Guitarist Scott Ian has been less willing to close the door.
Asked what lay behind the title, Ian declined to pin it down: “Sometimes I’m reticent to define things, how I feel about it, because I want the people who listen to the record, the people who come to the shows, I always want them to take ownership in everything we do and make it their own. So defining lyrics and all that… But for me, ’cause people have been asking us, ‘Well, is this your, your way of saying goodbye? Is this your farewell? Is this your last album?’ And I’m, like, ‘No. We’re not saying that.’ I’m also not not saying that. But I tend to think if we’re gonna say goodbye, we’re gonna make more of a big deal about it than just kind of sneaking it in in an album cover and album title and then disappearing.”
The album runs to 11 tracks and was produced by Jay Ruston alongside the band at Dave Grohl‘s Studio 606 in Northridge, California. The band began work there in earnest in 2022, with Belladonna starting his vocal sessions on November 5, 2023 and production continuing for a further two years.
One piece of continuity sets it apart in the band’s catalogue. Cursum Perficio is the first Anthrax studio album since 2004’s The Greater Of Two Evils to be made by the same lineup that played on the record before it. Joey Belladonna sings, with Scott Ian on rhythm guitar, Jonathan Donais on lead guitar, Frank Bello on bass and Charlie Benante on drums.
Three songs preceded the album. “It’s For The Kids” opened the campaign on May 15, followed by “The Edge Of Perfection” on July 10 and “Everybody’s Got A Plan” on August 6. Ian has said the lyrics to the first came out of anger, and has been openly critical of the current United States administration’s record on protecting children.
A video for the title track was released alongside the album, starring actor and musician London May.
Cursum Perficio Tracklist:
- “Persistence Of Memory” (1:07)
- “The Long Goodbye” (5:34)
- “It’s For The Kids” (4:20)
- “Everybody’s Got A Plan” (4:36)
- “The Edge Of Perfection” (6:46)
- “Infectious” (5:16)
- “NYC 93” (4:48)
- “Cursum Perficio” (6:08)
- “T.O.M.B.” (4:31)
- “Watch It Go” (5:43)
- “My Victory” (4:54)
The cover was painted by artist Mark Stritzel, who developed the characters on it with Benante. In the weeks before release the band rolled out animated shorts introducing each figure, produced by Emmanuel Cappellini.
Anthrax are currently touring North America as support on Iron Maiden‘s “Run For Your Lives” run, sharing the bill with Megadeth. A handful of dates remain.
The band formed in New York in 1981 and have been nominated for multiple Grammy awards across a catalogue that includes Spreading The Disease (1985), Among The Living (1987) and Persistence Of Time (1990).
