When a band is in its fourth decade and releases a new album with a Latin title that roughly translates to “My journey has come to an end,” it obviously tempts assumptions about the album being their last. However, the thrash-metal veterans, ANTHRAX, have stressed in recent interviews that this is definitely not the case. The thing is, on September 18th, 2026, the band’s twelfth studio album “Cursum Perficio” came out on Nuclear Blast, and not only did its thought-provoking title, but also a glance at the tracklist, tempt the thought. I mean, if you chose to tease your longtime fans with song titles such as “Persistence of Memory” and “The Long Goodbye,” what did you expect exactly?! IF the album indeed proves to be their last studio offering, they sure gave us one hell of a swansong!
If truth be told, the band has not exactly been on my radar of late, but then again, I just learned that they have not released any music in 10 years! This new selection is their first studio album since 2016’s brilliant “For All Kings.” It was the very album that actually rekindled the passion I used to have for this band in my delicate, thrash-vested teenage years in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but I was already kinda used to having an on/off relationship with this band, so I wasn’t keeping a keen eye on their shenanigans most of the time. Now, this new album throws more fuel on the fire. The band is quite renowned for having been almost inhumanly consistent in album quality over the years, but still, I wasn’t really expecting such a mind-blowing show of force from these elderly statesmen – four of the five current members are in their 60s, for fuck’s sake! It’s not a small feat; just listen to the high-octane thrash-gone-blackgaze punch-up entitled “Edge of Perfection,” for instance! Released as one of the early singles off this new album, the song indeed features some of the best riffs the band has ever written – just as the band’s riff lord Scott Ian claimed in a recent interview. So, all this teasing with the idea of going out with a bang must surely be just that – teasing. Why would they down their tools now, as this new endeavor aptly demonstrates that there’s still plenty of juice in the engine?
Among the Big Four of thrash metal, ANTHRAX has always fringed upon punk the most, and the new album also draws from that gene pool of raw energy quite nicely. The secret to their magical songcraft is all about restraining that chaotic energy into tight riffs – not to mention the signature tenor of Joey Belladonna, who rejoined the ranks in 2010. Scott Ian is still the undisputed king of downpicked thrash riffs, no question about it, and these new songs feature a lot of these goodies! That said, the somewhat alternative-tinged edge that was sneaked into the band’s songcraft on the previous album still works really nicely with their signature thrash template, with the best examples being songs such as “Infectious” and the album’s title track. Of course, my view might be slightly biased since I grew up with those iconic thrash albums – “Among the Living” (1987), “State of Euphoria” (1988), and “Persistence of Time” (1990) – but the current lineup with Belladonna on lead vocals is the only correct lineup for the job. No offense to John Bush, but I doubt his style would have fit the band’s new direction so well. With the yin & yang magic of Ian‘s trademark riffs and Belladonna‘s tenor, this new ANTHRAX album rocks every bit as hard as those landmark albums from yesteryear. The songcraft and production are streamlined to meet the high standard of contemporary metal, but the band has kept the punk energy intact. If there is anything that could have perhaps been done differently, it’s the song order: the album is somewhat front-loaded, with all the best bangers served up front. I mean, the songcraft is solid all the way through, but the first four or five bangers after the intro track are among the best songs the band has ever released, so the rest of the album slightly pales in comparison. Still, “Cursum Perficio” is easily one of the biggest pleasant surprises so far this year. I wasn’t expecting a new album from this band – I guess I wasn’t even fully aware that they still existed! Then, kaboom! Out of the blue, they dropped a comeback album that knocked me almost speechless. Well done, you slick old thrash devils!
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- 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
Lineup
Scott Ian – guitars
Charlie Benante – drums
Frank Bello – bass
Joey Belladonna – vocals
Jonathan Donais – guitars
Label
Nuclear Blast
