Anthrax are back, and after ten long years between records, the New York heavy metal titans are finally ready to unleash their next chapter.
The band will release their long awaited 12th full length studio album Cursum Perficio on September 18 via Nuclear Blast Records and Megaforce Records in North America. It marks their first album since 2016’s For All Kings, and with a decade of anticipation behind it, this one already feels like a huge moment for thrash and heavy metal fans worldwide.
To kick the door open, Anthrax have released the new track and video “It’s For The Kids”, a fast, sharp and absolutely fired up thrash ripper that wastes no time reminding everyone exactly who Anthrax are.
Stream “It’s For The Kids” here:
https://anthrax.bfan.link/iftksg
Pre order Cursum Perficio here:
https://anthrax.bfan.link/cplp
Featuring Scott Ian on guitar, Charlie Benante on drums, Frank Bello on bass, Joey Belladonna on vocals and Jonathan Donais on guitar, Anthrax remain one of the most important and enduring forces in heavy music. Across more than four decades, they have helped shape thrash metal, crossed generations of fans and built a legacy that still carries serious weight.
The phrase Cursum Perficio is Latin and can be translated as “My journey has come to an end,” “My journey is over,” or “I complete my journey.” For a band like Anthrax, that title carries a lot of meaning. This does not sound like a band quietly winding down, though. From everything surrounding this record, it feels more like a band completing one massive creative cycle and stepping into it with fire still in the tank.
The album was recorded at Dave Grohl’s Studio 606 in Los Angeles, with Anthrax teaming up once again with producer Jay Ruston. The result is being described as angry, aggressive and alive, with the band mining their history, delivering for longtime fans and expanding the scope of what Anthrax can sound like in 2026.
Scott Ian explained that the road to this album was anything but simple, with the band originally intending to make the record in 2020 before the world had other plans. After the pandemic, Anthrax were finally able to get back in a room together, and that energy clearly fed into the music.
Ian has said that when the band started working on the record, they were just happy to be together again. That feeling of being reborn, the fear of being forced away from their lives and the joy of returning to the band all became part of the emotional fuel behind Cursum Perficio.
Charlie Benante also gave some insight into the title, explaining that he first saw the phrase Cursum Perficio while watching a Marilyn Monroe documentary, where it appeared on a tile in her final home. Once he learned what it meant, it clicked immediately. For him, it was not about saying this is the last Anthrax record, but about the feeling that they had completed the task.
Photo credit: Travis Shinn
And if that sounds like a big statement, Scott Ian has gone even further by comparing this record’s place in their catalogue to the way earlier albums paved the road for Among The Living. That is a massive comparison, but it also says plenty about how confident Anthrax are in this new material.
As for “It’s For The Kids,” this one feels built for the fans from the very first hit.
Scott Ian has called it a love letter to Anthrax fans, and you can hear that in the energy. It is a four minute blast of thrash metal attitude, loaded with aggression, a big hook and that classic Anthrax momentum. It feels like a track designed to tear up a live room the second it hits the setlist.
The video also throws back to the band’s infamous 1985 clip for “Madhouse,” bringing that spirit into a new era while involving the fans directly. Charlie Benante has said that seeing the fans enjoying the experience made him enjoy making the video, and that their reactions to hearing the song for the first time brought a real energy to the clip.
That fan connection matters here. Anthrax have always had a certain electricity around them, not just because of the riffs, the speed or the history, but because of how much fun and chaos they can bring into heavy music without losing the bite.
Joey Belladonna has said that “It’s For The Kids” feels like straight up Anthrax, with plenty of fire and punch. Jonathan Donais called it a right to the point thrasher, fast, aggressive, catchy and one that will be fun live. Frank Bello summed it up as a heavy, driving song with a big hook chorus, a combination of classic Anthrax and current Anthrax.
That is exactly what this first single needed to be.
After ten years, Anthrax did not need to return with something overly complicated or over explained. They needed to come back swinging. “It’s For The Kids” does exactly that. It is fast paced, thrashing, melodic and packed with that unmistakable Anthrax character.
With Cursum Perficio arriving September 18, this feels like the beginning of a massive new chapter for one of heavy music’s most iconic bands. Anthrax have nothing left to prove, but they still sound hungry, still sound fired up and still sound like they are ready to hit full throttle.
If “It’s For The Kids” is the first taste, then Cursum Perficio is shaping up to be one hell of a return.
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