Anthrax – Cursum Perficio
Release Date: 18th September 2026
Label: Nuclear Blast
Order/Stream
Genre: Thrash Metal, Groove Metal.
FFO: Testament, Dust Bolt, Judas Priest, Enforced, Nevermore, Grand Magus, Flotsam and Jetsam.
Review By: Malte Brigge
Whether or not you think Anthrax should be in the so-called Big Four, they are a metal institution. Their logo is iconic, their sound is inimitable, and there’s a good chance when you say “anthrax” people will think of the band before the unbelievably lethal disease. Even my metal-loathing wife was impressed they let me review their new album, Cursum Perficio, such is their status. Anthrax has meant a lot to me, being among the first bands that plunged me into heavy music, when a high school friend decided he liked punk better and gave me his copy of Sound of White Noise, an album that has never since left my rotation. That said, those of us who have been around long enough cannot help but be more concerned than excited when a band with such deep history announces a new album. Can Anthrax overcome the curse of long-toothed bands releasing toothless albums?
Yeah. Short answer: yeah. They’ve had years to hone their sound and, using the same studio to capture the tonal template of For All Kings, they’ve written a batch of songs that at once feel like their classic albums and a fully modern band. Let’s get it out of the way: if you like Anthrax, you’ll be happy with Cursum Perficio. If you didn’t previously like the band, there’s little chance this album will convert you. It isn’t a game-changer, it’ll never be iconic, but for a band on the back foot of their career (the title can translate to “I complete the journey”), they continue to live up to the promises made to their fans. Maybe it took them a while to get here (first album in ten years, fifth in thirty), but they aren’t arrogant enough to assume everything they write is magic—these songs are well-honed, thoughtfully constructed, and it only takes a couple of spins before you’re belting along with unbreakable hooks.
Part of that success can be credited to how well they’ve weaponized their own sonic history. Anthrax doesn’t really sound like anybody else, and most of their albums have distinct identities. Frank Bello’s powerful bass bolsters a thick, dark guitar tone, over which Joey Belladonna’s iconic voice rises. Age has lowered his register without taking away his near power-metal ability to soar, but there are times when his latter-day grit almost convinced me John Bush made a guest appearance, especially on the slowdown bridge of Infectious, the melodically familiar Everybody’s Got a Plan, and the landslide attack of Watch It Go, which wouldn’t feel out of place on Volume 8 or We’ve Come For You All. On the other hand, there are passages where he sounds more youthful than ever, and the way he drops lines like “Like a kid about to set fire to a curtain” and “I stole the silver off a dead man’s eyes / What could go wrong?” not only invite you to sing along but make you grin with that kind of sly joyfulness that always set Anthrax apart from the other bands they came up with.
That classic energy is anchored by the band’s signature, rhythmically weird, very choppy and syncopated riff structures. Yet, across the record, there’s a kind of melancholy that’s centered in the riffs themselves. The excellent title track (my favorite of the lot), The Long Goodbye, My Victory, and centerpiece The Edge of Perfection are deeply reflective but steer clear of cheap nostalgia and sentiment. The Long Goodbye starts off mid-paced, but a bladed double-time feel and flying Donais solo lets you know they aren’t here to get comfortable. Just in case you might start feeling pensive, powerful mosh songs like the punky NYC 93 and hyper-thrash attack of the “Madhouse”-tinged It’s for the Kids send you off in search of a violent pit to slam around in. Not every band ages gracefully (Metallica), or acknowledges it at all (KISS), but Anthrax have found a balance on Cursum Perficio to maintain their youthful energy while writing songs that build on their maturity and experience.
If there is a notable flaw, it’s abundance. Every Anthrax record since Persistence of Time has had too many songs on it, and Cursum Perficio is no exception. If they ended the album after the title track (what a gutpunch that would be), you wouldn’t miss much, and tracks like Everybody’s Got a Plan and Watch It Go (“from sea to fuckin’ shining sea!”) admittedly feel less necessary than others. Still, it’s hard to say which of these 56 minutes are actually worth cutting; there’s no bloat here, no sense of a band who can’t self-edit. Ultimately, I’m glad to have them, all of them, and I’m glad Anthrax finally fucking released this album. Anthrax’s legacy is already sealed. Cursum Perficio only proves how worthy of that legacy they are. If all roads have led us here, it’s been a good damn journey, indeed.
(3.5 / 5)
