Last week, New York thrash metal icons Anthrax officially released their brand-new single “The Edge Of Perfection.” Now, the band has unveiled behind-the-scenes footage from the shoot for the track’s official music video. You can watch it down below.
The heavy-hitting track serves as the second single from the band’s highly anticipated twelfth studio album, Cursum Perficio, which is scheduled to drop on September 18 via Megaforce Records in the United States and Nuclear Blast in Europe.
The upcoming release is a monumental milestone for the veteran musicians, marking their first full-length studio record in an entire decade. Their previous effort, 2016’s For All Kings, proved to be a massive commercial success, impressively debuting in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart. Adding a layer of thematic weight to the highly awaited follow-up, the Latin phrase Cursum Perficio translates to “My journey has come to an end,” “My journey is over,” or “I complete my journey.”
Directed by Joel Harlow, the official visual accompaniment for “The Edge Of Perfection” perfectly captures the intensity of the new track. Speaking recently on Full Metal Jackie‘s nationally syndicated radio show, guitarist Scott Ian expressed immense pride in the composition, boldly placing it at the absolute pinnacle of their extensive discography.
He described it as “the greatest Anthrax song in the history of Anthrax. We have not written anything this great in our career. And to do that all these years in makes it all the more special.”
Expanding on the lyrical core of the single, Ian explained that the words were deeply inspired by his own family life and the ongoing pursuit of maintaining the titular edge of perfection.
“I think that I’ve never had any real other goal in my life except to be happy. And I am,” he stated at the time.
While the lyrics hold a deep personal meaning for the guitarist, the musical foundation of the track has actually been brewing for several years. During an August 2024 interview with Metal Hammer magazine, Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante revealed the origins of the song’s intense instrumental arrangement. Discussing the writing process, he noted that he composed the music “way before COVID, and it has just stayed with me — the melody and the chords, but also the aggression.”
During a recent interview with BraveWords, Scott Ian and Charlie Benante discussed the production timeline and the origin of the album’s Latin title. When asked if the phrase means “staying the course” or “finishing the journey,” Scott Ian responded: “You’re asking the wrong people. Neither of us majored in Latin or went to medical school.”
Charlie Benante clarified that the title was actually inspired by a documentary about Marilyn Monroe. “There was a whole idea going around about, all the four bands, the Big 4 bands, kind of getting to the point where, ‘Wow, this may be the time that this could be the last record’. And I was watching this Marilyn Monroe documentary. She has this plaque in her house, which said, ‘Cursum Perficio’ which means ‘My journey has come to an end’ or ‘My journey is over’. And we were talking, and ‘What about this?’. We don’t really have to say that this is the end.”
Scott Ian added that the title also reflects the lengthy, decade-long process of creating the record. “I look at it as, it’s also the journey of this album.”
Cursum Perficio track listing:
- “Persistence of Memory“
- “The Long Goodbye“
- “It’s for the Kids“
- “Everybody’s Got a Plan“
- “The Edge of Perfection“
- “Infectious“
- “NYC 93“
- “Cursum Perficio“
- “T.O.M.B.“
- “Watch It Go“
- “My Victory“
