Anthrax's 'Cursum Perficio' - Album Review

Whilst I have not reviewed a huge amount of thrash so far this year, the thrash that I have enjoyed in 2026 has been of a very high standard. I know that Megadeth's latest self-titled effort (which I reviewed here) was not universally loved, but I really enjoyed it - and I have also reviewed strong efforts from Kreator, Exodus, and Flotsam and Jetsam. Some thrash-adjacent bands have also received some love this year, and there is likely to be at least one more thrash review to follow before the December comes to an end. Today's piece also returns to all things thrash, and to another member of the Big 4, as the long-awaited twelfth studio album from the New York-based five-piece Anthrax was finally released last month. Whilst Anthrax have remained a busy live act over the past decade, work on this latest album seemed so sluggish that I was not convinced that any progress was actually being made - and it had gotten to the point where I had stopped paying attention to whatever any member of Anthrax said in an interview on the subject. This was a shame as the thought of a new Anthrax album should be something to look forward. Prior to last month, since the current era kicked off in 2010 when frontman Joey Belladonna returned to the band for a third stint, Anthrax had released two studio albums: the excellent Worship Music in 2011 and the almost as good For All Kings (which I reviewed here) in 2016. Whilst I like parts of the John Bush era, and love Bush in Armored Saint, Anthrax have always been at their best when Belladonna was in the band - with both Worship Music and For All Kings better than anything else they had put out since 1988's State of Euphoria. As such, they seemed to be on something of a late career renaissance, with two excellent albums in the 2010s and a packed touring schedule - but work on album number 12 always seemed slow, and after a while I just stopped caring. Over the past few years, it has become quite clear that Anthrax are one of those bands for whom new material does not come easy. Some bands are awash with songs, and could essentially record a new album at any point, but, for some, writing anything new seems like a genuinely painful activity - and I can only assume that is the case for Anthrax. For All Kings, a generally well-regarded album, should have been followed up years ago - but it took the band 10 years to do so, even when they had been saying that a new album was close to being ready for about the last six or seven years. Given some of the interviews that various band members have done recently, too, I get the impression that they likely do not talk to each other that much outside of core band activities. I think I have heard two or three different 'futures' for Anthrax over the past month or so - so Anthrax are now clearly one of those bands that is a business entity rather than a band of brothers. That is not necessarily a band thing, but it does go some way of explaining why anything new was not forthcoming for quite some time - but, last month, album number 12 finally dropped in the form of Cursum Perficio. The band's second album from the current line-up, Cursum Perficio is certainly similar in vibe to the previous two - although it does not feel as strong in my opinion - albeit slightly more experimental. It is quite frontloaded in my opinion, but there are still strong numbers throughout. Produced again by Jay Ruston, Anthrax sound powerful here - with Belladonna in fine voice and the band's typical up-tempo and bouncy take on thrash largely present and correct, with a few heavier experiments thrown in.

I was surprised to see a few Blair Daly co-writes on the album, who is more known for writing songs with alternative rock/post-grunge bands as well as pop stars - but his handful of co-writes do not significantly shift the sound of Cursum Perficio. The band have written the bulk of the material here as always - and at just over 50 minutes there is quite a bit to get stuck into. Persistence of Memory, the first track here, is an instrumental scene-setter. At just over a minute long, with dark piano and synths setting a creepy tone, the song does not really add much to the album - but it builds up nicely towards The Long Goodbye, the first proper song here. Immediately the song opens with a mid-paced, building guitar riff - the classic fat tone of guitarist Scott Ian recognisable. Percussive drumming from Charlie Benante is soon added, and the song starts to build around this riff and drum pattern - in a surprisingly understated way. I would have expected the album to roar out of the traps, but Anthrax have often had a dose of traditional heavy metal in their sound, alongside their love of the New York punk and hardcore scenes, so something more crunching and mid-paced is not out of character for the band. The mid-paced riffing is driving and groovy, whilst the drumming is punchy and full of character - which creates a strong bed for Belladonna's melodic vocals. The verses utilise this building sound, whilst the later chorus is a bit more full-bodied - although the pace and crunch remain quite similar. The song is a bit of a strange one, then, but I find it quite an effective album opener. It really allows Belladonna to shine, as he was always one of the best actual singers on the thrash scene, whilst the tight rhythmic grooves allow for a bit of a heaviness as well as an accessible overall sound. Jonathan Donais' first guitar solo on the album comes towards the end, with some high-octane shredding upping the pace somewhat, with a double bass drum backing, only for the aforementioned groove to return for a final chorus. Lead single It's for the Kids then takes over, with the band upping the pace and returning to a punky, jumpy beat that is much more typical of the core Anthrax sound. If there was more of a classic heavy metal sound throughout the previous number, then this song is much more typically thrash. Benante's drumming is snappy and well-produced, whilst the juddering guitar rhythms and ringing bass playing from Frank Bello ensure that the classic Anthrax sound is established from the off. The verses are especially punky, with the bass driving everything and the drumming providing a choppy, staccato rhythm - whilst the chorus is on the slower side, with Belladonna going for a more anthemic approach overall vocally. A powerful, mid-paced breakdown later ups the heaviness, laying down further chugging riffs and prominent bass playing - whilst gang vocals add to this crunchier vibe, before the pace is upped again and Donais rips into another shredded solo. Everybody's Got a Plan sits somewhere between the two previous numbers speed-wise. It is not as groovy as the opening cut, but the break-neck thrash of the previous number is reined in somewhat - to allow a pretty purposeful groove to settle in, built around a quite acrobatic riff that injects itself into the verses on occasion to act as punctuation between Belladonna's vocal lines. There are moments again here where the bass takes over, seemingly the most prominent instrument, but this is a much riffier piece overall - with quite a few different riffs coming and going as the song progresses. Another slower breakdown is used here for effect, and this time the slowness remains during the guitar solo - which includes lots of long-held, screaming notes and some slower moving bluesy melodies. The multitude of riffs throughout and the pace changes throughout give the song a pretty dynamic feeling overall - even if hooks remain via the vocals.

The Edge of Perfection is one of the songs here that experiments with some heavier vibes at times. Despite a quite calm opening of clean guitar melodies, the main riffy section that follows is quite black metal-coded, with very fast-picked tremolo guitar riffs and more of an extreme metal approach to drumming. I cannot recall Anthrax quite sounding like this before, but the sound evolves over the fairly lengthy intro - with discordant clean guitar melodies later thrown in, alongside some wordless vocal melodies. There is melody alongside the tougher guitar approach, then, but once Belladonna starts to sing properly a more chunky, typical riff takes over - with the verses more classically Anthrax with some powerful mid-paced grooves. There is a great headbanging vibe to the verses, with a percussive edge thanks to a few little drum flourishes, whilst the crunch gives way to the black metal adjacent riffing when the chorus kick in - which is faster overall with some expressive vocals from Belladonna. The return of the wordless vocals from the intro help to add an anthemic edge at times - and the song is a great mix of styles that sees the band doing something a bit different whilst still sounding like themselves. After four very strong songs, I find Infectious to be a bit of a step down in quality. Given its title, it is quite a plodding, mid-paced number that lacks any meaningful big hooks in my opinion. A faster song might have fit the title better, but the song as it stands is quite plodding and deliberate - with little that really jumps out melodically. Belladonna sounds great, and some of the harmonised vocal parts see him as a powerful force - but the never-changing pace and the lack of a really strong chorus let the song down for me, and mean that the vocal performance is never truly capitalised on. I do quite like the guitar solo section later on, which is a bit more restrained than usual and filled with melody - but overall the song is one of the weaker cuts here in my opinion. It might have worked better had it been shorter, but given that it barely changes up during its five minute runtime it does start to drag as it goes on. NYC 93 gets the album back on track, though, with the song being one of the thrashiest on the album up to this point. Picking up the pace again, the song is a speedster, and one that really showcases that punk influence that Anthrax have always had. The juddering riffing and bouncy bass playing keep the song ticking - whilst the power chord pattern during the verses really sticks in the brain. Whilst Belladonna may sound better with more room to breathe, he also does these faster songs well - and his rapid fire delivery during the verses is excellent, whilst the shout-along gang vocals of the chorus are sure to make the song a live staple. Unsurprisingly, the guitar solo is fast-paced, too, with the song overall retaining a high tempo throughout - making it one of the most energetic pieces here. The album's title track follows, opening with some murky clean guitars that slowly build up around some atmospherics - until a proper riff that works off the same overall melody takes over. Reining in the pace of the previous song, this track is more mid-paced overall - although there is still quite an energy thanks to the main guitar riff and a very snare-heavy drum pattern. The verses are pretty snappy, then, with the aforementioned riff driving everything - whilst the chorus slows the pace down, going for a somewhat more epic overall sound with occasional gang vocals and more of a snaking groove. It is a song that has grown on me quite a bit since first listening to the album - with the dynamic approach and clean guitar breaks helping it to stand out.

T.O.M.B. feels a bit heavier and more grinding overall. Whilst not as standout as The Edge of Perfection in terms of taking a slightly different route, there is certainly a tougher feel to this track that has more of a 1990s Pantera feel in terms of the darker guitar tones and mid-paced grooves. There is little of the band's punk influence this time, then, with the song instead largely being a pretty mid-paced number with ever-present riffing, another strong vocal performance, and a meaner overall approach. That is, though, until around half way through when things do speed up and something much more thrashy takes over. The bass becomes more prominent and there is a high-octane approach for a while - with urgent vocals and that culminates in some shredded guitar soloing. There is a dynamic approach taken here too, then, as the mix of the grinding grooves and thrashier sections does work well to create something interesting and powerful. Sticking with a heavier overall vibe, Watch It Go ups the pace to return to something more overtly thrashy. Like The Edge of Perfection, though, there is a bit of a black metal rasp to some of the riffing early on, especially in the slightly strange drum beats laid down - whilst the verses here are very off-kilter, with unusual grooves and a chug that sits just behind the beat. As such, the song seems to mix traditional thrash, extreme metal, and something a bit more progressive and left-field together. The song does not exactly sound all that technical, with the grooves being quite organic - even with the strange rhythms in mind. As such, there are no real links to the current tech metal scene - with the off-kilter nature more akin to extreme metal than anything more modern. It is a song that takes a few listens to fully appreciate, as it is a bit all over the place arrangement-wise, but there is a lot going on for those who persevere and want to enjoy something a bit different overall. The album then comes to a close with My Victory, a song that returns to a much more typical thrash sound for Anthrax - ending the album on something much more familiar overall. After a couple more slightly experimental numbers, hearing some Anthrax 101 is quite welcome - with the main riff a pretty anthemic and memorable one, with verses that are very bass-driven and built around some more very strong vocals from Belladonna. Like many classic thrash songs, the chorus sees the song slow down somewhat - with strident vocal melodies that lodge in the brain from the off a big feature, as well as some pounding drums that keep the song moving despite the slower pace. In terms of the overall arrangement, there is less here that really stands out compared to some of the other more complex numbers - but the hooks are strong and the riffing throughout is full of those classic Ian patterns of chugs. There is a bit of a false ending, too, where it seems as if the song is over - only for another riff to kick in, which leads into a mid-paced instrumental breakdown section which keeps going for a while until it fades out. Cursum Perficio may well end up being Anthrax's last album, or at least that was what one of the aforementioned contradictory interviews I recently read recently suggested, but I hope that it is not - as Anthrax still sound strong and creative here. I think the previous two albums were stronger in terms of pure songwriting, but this one feels a bit more varied and experimental - so it would be good to see more of that side of Anthrax in the future. Either way, more Anthrax is always welcome - and Cursum Perficio is an enjoyable entry in the band's canon.

The album was released on 18th September 2026 via Nuclear Blast Records. Below is the band's promotional video for It's for the Kids.