Anthrax – Cursum Perficio (ALBUM)

Anthrax Confront Mortality Head-On with “Cursum Perficio”

Forty-five years into a career that helped define thrash metal, Anthrax chose a title for their new album that translates from Latin to “my journey has come to an end,” and then spent the whole record wrestling with what that actually means.

Cursum Perficio arrives a full decade after 2016’s For All Kings, the longest gap between studio albums in the band’s history. Drummer and chief songwriter Charlie Benante has been candid about how long it took just to get motivated enough to start writing again, describing a slow accumulation of ideas rather than a sudden creative spark. What eventually took shape is a record that looks back across the band’s entire trajectory, from four Queens metalheads to founding members of thrash’s so-called Big Four alongside Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth, while asking harder questions about legacy and time running out.

The title track, released as the album’s fourth single, sits at the emotional center of that idea. Frontman Joey Belladonna delivers lines about struggle and finality over a charging riff and stabbing drum work that guitarist Scott Ian says was built to feel epic in scope, less a song about ending than about measuring what a life adds up to. The accompanying black-and-white video, directed by documentarian Don Argott, pushes that theme into literal territory, following former Samhain member London May as he’s dragged in chains through fog and water before finally breaking free in the video’s back half, a visual arc drummer Benante has called the dark horse of the entire album.

Reviewers have noted that Cursum Perficio pulls from multiple eras of the band’s sound, folding in echoes of the John Bush years alongside classic Belladonna-era thrash, and that the record front-loads its strongest material without losing steam entirely by the back end.

MusicPorta says: Anthrax sound genuinely reflective rather than nostalgic on Cursum Perficio, and the title track captures that balance best, heavy enough to satisfy longtime fans while carrying real emotional weight underneath the riffs. It’s a rare late-career record that earns its introspection.

MusicPorta Rating: ★★★★★

“Cursum Perficio” is an exciting track with captivating energy, impressive delivery, and a memorable sound. Make sure you listen to this impressive song and add it to your playlist today.

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