ALBUM REVIEW: CURSUM PERFICIO BY ANTHRAX
Reviewed by Cecilia Pattison-Levi
Release date 18 September 2026
Anthrax. The New York Thrash legends comprising of Scott Ian (guitar), Charlie Benante (drums), Frank Bello (bass), Joey Belladonna (vocals) and Jonathan Donais (guitar) and are releasing their first full-length album in 10 years. This new album, their twelfth studio record, is ‘Cursum Perficio’ (Latin for “my journey is complete”), and its 11 songs chart the culmination of the band’s accomplishment through their musical pathway.
‘Cursum Perficio’ sounds like a band who know their skills, their sound and are now comfortable in their own skin. The album opens with a short drum kick and a piano melody as orchestral instruments swirl in the melody of ‘Persistence Of Memory’. It’s a sonic piece that you can imagine the band playing over the PA as they make their way out onto the stage, before the chugging guitars, steady mid-paced drum beats and vocals bring in the lament of ‘The Long Goodbye’ as the band reflects that “memories are over” and the “body is colder” as “day by day I lose track of time”. The “world is getting older” as the realisation dawns that maybe ‘It’s For The Kids’. Hell no! The up-tempo drum and guitar thrasher from Anthrax is old school. Metal hearts rejoice! Complete with those strange guitar riffs, the ferocious ‘mosh part’ at the end, and a guitar solo with amazing speed it will “never change”.
The hard rock of ‘Everybody’s Got A Plan’ is up next and the guitars wail as the lesson in life is “that it all falls apart” as “birds of a feather were doomed from the start” by the “sharpest knives” placed in the “hands of children”. “Everybody’s got a plan/That’s until they get punched in the face”, and the metal music in this song is so classic and the rock vocals are clear. The same goes for ‘The Edge Of Perfection’ with its lilting. shimmering guitars in the introduction before Charlie Benante’s drums blast beat black metal style and the guitars try to keep up. The song balances melody and aggression, with Joey Belladonna delivering one of the album’s most emotive vocal performances. The guitar solo also wails. These two tracks are sure to be fan favourites.
The smile is infectious as this classic heavy rock chugger about a “public execution” of “noise and lies” and knows “there is no closure”. So, be happy, “don’t take anything personally” and piss off the haters with a sublime guitar solo! Then, the sounds of sirens lead in blast beats, chugging guitars and a dominant guitar riff as ‘NYC93’ hits. It’s hard and about being like a kid lost in the city having a wild time (chaos, whiskey, drowning in fun), “and gave it my best” and “ain’t worth doing/until you do it to death”. The title track ‘Cursum Perficio’, has a lovely lyrical guitar riff that frames the melody around the journey being over. It’s a classic metal track and the best song on the album.
Following is ‘Target On My Back’ (or T.O.M.B) and it’s a throwback to a former Anthrax era: dark, heavy, pounding as “Hell yeah/We had some fun” as a band as “nothing could go wrong”. Then, it pairs with ‘Watch It Go’ as the drum blasts and the guitars are tortured under the strain as the message to “reap what you sow” as “the dream has died” and it’s “back to reality” as “hell awaits”. So, watch for the treason, doubters, and the evil spuds in the “land of the free”! The album closes with huge melodic thrash of ‘My Victory’. The song gets its guitar hooks in as you “scream so hard your throat bleeds” for the “satiric” and “pyrrhic” victory. Dark indeed!
Anthrax bring the album ‘Cursum Perficio’ full circle: there is history, the present and nods to the future. It’s a very good album: the production is great, it’s economical, and the narrative of the songs is in the right order. Fans will love this album and music fans will get to hear a band in fine form. There is a lot to admire and enjoy in this record.
