Anthrax Announce First New Album in Decade: ‘Cursum Pericio,’ Tease ‘It’s For the Kids’ Single

It’s been a decade since thrash metal icon Anthrax released a full-length album. But this fall, the group will return with the long-awaited follow-up to 2016’s For All Kings when they drop their twelfth LP, Cursum Perficio, on Sept. 18.

The news was revealed in an Instagram post on Monday (May 11) in which the band’s members assembled for a pic, with the caption reading “It’s been more than a decade … but we’re back ☠️ 5.15.” The photo featured founding rhythm guitarist Scott Ian, singer Joey Belladonna, bassist Frank Bello, drummer Charlie Benante and lead guitarist Jon Donais.

The album’s title appears to be a reference to the Latin phrase engraved on tiles in cement at the front door of Marilyn Monroe’s house, which was widely believed to mean “my journey ends here,” though it could also mean “I will persevere.” The first single from the LP, “It’s For the Kids,” is due out on Friday (May 15); you can pre-save it here.

In an interview with Metal Hammer in 2024, drummer Benante said the band had written “13 or 14” songs for the album, describing a few of them; no official tracklist has been announced yet. “There’s a song which has the same kind of epic feel as “In The End” [from 2011’s Worship Music] and “Blood Eagle Wings” [from For All Kings],” Benante said at the time. “It revolves around the journey we’ve been on in the band. And there are three songs that don’t sound like anything we’ve done before. One called “The Edge Of Perfection” I had way before Covid, and it has just stayed with me – the melody and the chords, but also the aggression.”

The plan at the time was to record the album at Foo Fighters leader Dave Grohl’s Studio 606, which Ian said was a “bit of a Foo Fighters and Nirvana museum, but it’s awesome … It’s like being in the most rock clubhouse ever, but it’s also inspiring being surrounded by the success of somebody who has only ever done it ’cos he f–king loves to do it.”

Back in March, drummer Benante told the Everblack podcast that the upcoming album was a “very important release” for the group. “So we’re gonna, of course, make the time to fulfill doing as many shows as we possibly could in support of this record.”

After opening for Megadeth on the Canadian run of their final tour in February and March of this year, Anthrax will hit a run of European festivals and outdoor venues this summer. Check out the dates below.