Anthrax Reveal New Album ‘Cursum Perficio’ Coming This Year

The thrash metal icons have also shared the record’s first single, ‘It’s For the Kids’.

Image Travis Shinn

10 years on since the release of their last album, 2016's well-received For All Kings, New York thrash metal icons Anthrax have announced their return with Cursum Perficio.

Set for release on Friday 18 September via Nuclear Blast Records and Megaforce Records (North America), Jay Ruston produced Anthrax’s 12th record that includes the throwback first single ‘It’s For the Kids’.

The track is all you could want from Anthrax, with buzzsaw guitar riffs and Joey Belladonna’s distinct vocals coming together for a headbang-worthy four and a half minutes of madness.

Speaking about the single, guitarist Scott Ian says, “A friend of mine said, ‘It’s For The Kids’ is a straight-up love letter to your fans. 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!”

Elaborating on the music video, drummer Charlie Benante adds, “The video for ‘It’s For the Kids’ turned out really well. 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 favourite songs on the record and one of my favourite 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 fucking 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.”

READ MORE: Ocean Sleeper Announce Their Biggest Australian Headline Tour To Date

When it comes to the album, Ian says, “It was quite a journey from the inception of this album to its completion. 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,” adds Benante. “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.”

Part of the Big Four that helped pioneer thrash metal in the ‘80s alongside Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer, the New York act’s career spans more than 40 years. Over that time, Anthrax have released 11 studio albums, sold more than 10 million records worldwide and inspired a host of modern rock and metal bands.

Cursum Perficio by Anthrax is out Friday 18 September via Nuclear Blast Records and Megaforce Records. Pre-order/pre-save here.

Cursum Perficio

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

---