ANTHRAX is back with its first new album in a decade, and the band sounds fully locked in.
The New York thrash icons will release Cursum Perficio on Sept. 18 via Megaforce Records, marking the long-awaited follow-up to 2016’s For All Kings. Recorded at Dave Grohl’s Studio 606 and produced by Jay Ruston alongside the band, the album channels both the chaos of recent years and the chemistry that’s fueled ANTHRAX for more than four decades.
The first single, “It’s For The Kids,” is a sharp-edged thrasher packed with speed, aggression, and a hook built for live crowds.
“A friend of mine said, ‘It’s For The Kids’ is a straight-up love letter to your fans,’” Scott Ian says. “That’s exactly what I wanted it to be. The album needed a four-minute thrash song that harkened back to our first era.”
Charlie Benante sees the song as a direct hit of classic ANTHRAX energy.
“One of my favorite songs on the record and one of my favorite riffs,” Benante says. “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.”
Work on the album began in 2020, but the pandemic stalled momentum and forced the band apart. When sessions finally resumed, the experience shifted the tone and emotional weight behind the record.
“It was quite a journey from the inception of this album to its completion,” Ian says. “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.”
Benante connects the album directly to the band’s evolution, calling it “a culmination of everything we’ve learned.”
For bassist Frank Bello, the mindset moving forward stays simple.
“We left it all on the table,” Bello says. “We really know who we are as ANTHRAX… From here on out, we’re going to go full throttle for every fucking minute.”
The album is available to pre-order now across a variety of formats, including an Amazon-exclusive signed zoetrope purple vinyl and a whopping 15 additional vinyl variants, including retailer and regional exclusives.
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