Anthrax — Cursum Perficio Album Review: The Decade-Long Wait Is Over
Metal Nerdery Podcast — Episode 370 | Published September 24, 2026 | metalnerdery.com | @metalnerderypodcast
"Very classic metal… I'm getting like an Iron Maiden vibe…"
"It's definitely a heavier Anthrax… it's a heavier, more progressive, and more melodic Anthrax… the songs are pretty streamlined…"
"It's literally 'shape + letter = color'…"
"To be fair, these guys are in their 60's… they're still making albums…"
"I don't think anything is gonna be better than the newest Coroner… I'm sorry, I think Coroner gets Album of the Decade."
About This Episode
A lot can happen in a decade. If you go back to 2016 and mention the terms "TikTok" or "AI Slop" in casual conversation, nobody will have any idea what you're talking about — TikTok had just launched, and the AI Slop we've all come to know and loathe was still a few years away from becoming a nightmarish reality.
Released September 18, 2026, CURSUM PERFICIO, the 12th studio album by New York thrash veterans ANTHRAX, represents the band's first new music since 2016's For All Kings — and a return to the world of metal with easily the most unusual album title and bizarre album artwork of their entire catalog.
To be fair, one shan't judge an album by its name or its artwork alone. CURSUM PERFICIO has a nice variety of old school "ThrashThrax" moments mixed in with darker, heavier tracks that would sound right at home on Persistence of Time or Among The Living. And just to make your brain numb with wonder, there's one track with such complex time signature changes that it literally sounds as mind-boggling as imagining "if math was a color."
Overall, it's a grower — and while it does contain elements from their entire back catalog in terms of sound, there is a unique sonic quality present that properly defines ANTHRAX here and now, in the mid-2020s. The songs have a deceptively streamlined flow to them that are lean on riffs yet potent in their arrangement and delivery. Basically, if you're an Anthrax fan, you're going to enjoy this album. And if CURSUM PERFICIO is your very first Anthrax experience, then you have a long, enjoyable journey ahead of you to go back through their entire discography to see how everything fits into the context of this album.
Album: Cursum Perficio — Anthrax's 12th Studio Album
Released: September 18, 2026
Label: Megaforce (North America) / Nuclear Blast (Europe)
Lineup: Scott Ian · Charlie Benante · Frank Bello · Joey Belladonna · Jonathan Donais
The Title: Latin for "I complete the course" or "I finish the journey"
Previous Album: For All Kings (2016) — Jonathan Donais' debut with the band
Cursum Perficio — Track by Track
01
Persistence of Memory
"Very classic metal… I'm getting like an Iron Maiden vibe…" Also — yes, it's a Salvador Dalí painting. "It's kinda reminiscent of Persistence of Time…"
02
The Long Goodbye
"That's a cool opener… somehow this has more Track 2 energy…"
03
It's for the Kids
Lead single. "See, THAT should have been the opener, right? It's got more of an opening vibe to it…" "On the last one and this one, I was getting the Among the Living sound…"
04
Everybody's Got a Plan
"That's almost like Queen (the guitar solo), with the layered guitars back there…"
05
The Edge of Perfection
"I like how they put some proggy elements into their later stuff…" #victorymetal #usethoseheadphones
06
Infectious
"Dancing Days… a heavier Dancing Days… Moshing Days…" "It doesn't sound thrashy at all… it's metal, for sure…"
"You know, these guys are in their 60's… they're still making albums…"
07
NYC 93
"Never forget, btw… that was when they had the bomb in the (WTC) basement…" "Yeah, that could have been on State of Euphoria… the vibe of it." "This almost sounds like it could have been on Among the Living even…"
08
Cursum Perficio
Title track. "That just sounds like a very slowed down Anthrax song… like from the 80's…" "That (chorus riff) sounds like the John Bush stuff right there…" "It's definitely a heavier Anthrax… more progressive, and more melodic… the songs are pretty streamlined…"
"It's definitely a heavier Anthrax…"
09
T.O.M.B.
"Some meaty bass… it's the best kind of bass." "Okay, I already like it better on 2nd listen…" A discussion of singers and albums that just don't connect for some listeners — "when Anthrax came out, they were the only thrash band with a real singer…"
10
Watch It Go
"Count this… that's in 9 I think… (the verse riff)" / "(the chorus riff is in…) 7!" Two Pantera references embedded (Primal Concrete Sledge & Goddamn Electric).
"It's literally 'shape + letter = color'…"
11
My Victory
Closer. "It definitely does have a Persistence of Time heaviness to it…" "I do like it better upon the 2nd listen…" (Featuring an extended tangent about ZZ Top that Bill would like everyone to forget.)
The Verdict — Album of the Decade?
The final question: "Is it better than the new Exodus or the newest Coroner?"
"I don't think anything is gonna be better than the newest Coroner… I'm sorry, I think Coroner gets Album of the Decade." A hot take dropped in the final minutes — go check out the new Coroner EP, Ex Nucleo - The Remastered Extraction, and decide for yourself.
Episode Timestamps
00:01"I'll try one more Elvis…" / "Why does my side always look… like I've pee'd in formation?" / "It's like fingerpainting…" / WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised / This episode's Clinky of the Episode, brought to us by Elvis Midnight Snack: peanut, banana, bacon flavored whiskey
03:00***PATREON US*** at patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast / "That's extra… that's the Patreon After Dark… that's $20 a month AND a happy ending…" / "For $20 a month I might even show my butthole… in the middle of the night…" / "We've gotten so much mileage out of that…" / "There will be a button next time…"
04:11EMAIL US at metalnerdery@gmail.com / SOCIAL MEDIA US at #metalnerderypodcast on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok / CALL US & VOICEMAIL US at 980-666-8182 / #AppreciationCall #ThankYou #BlessYou #CanadianJason / "To be fair…" / "This is why the Bunkerpoon Center for Metal Excellence is the place to be… it lifts the spirits…" / "He lives right in the middle of Letterkennyville… are the women THAT hot!? Is that real or is that fabricated?" / #StrangeBrew #SCTV #TakeOff / NOTE: Hoser means "a foolish or uncultivated person"
11:30***METAL NERDERY PODCAST PRESENTS: ANTHRAX – CURSUM PERFICIO*** / Latin for "I complete the course" or "I finish the journey" / "That's old timey morn right there…" / "(Marilyn Monroe) was a WOMAN, dude…" / "Isn't Persistence of Memory a Salvador Dalí painting?" (NOTE: It is, in fact, a Salvador Dalí painting) / "It's kinda reminiscent of Persistence of Time…"
15:00Persistence of Memory / The Long Goodbye — "Very classic metal… I'm getting like an Iron Maiden vibe…" / "That's a cool opener… somehow (The Long Goodbye) has more Track 2 energy…" / "You think (Mike) spells (his last name) with a 'TH'?"
19:12It's for the Kids — "See, THAT should have been the opener, right? It's got more of an opening vibe to it…" / "On the last (song) and this one, I was getting the Among the Living sound…"
21:18Everybody's Got a Plan — "That's almost like Queen (the guitar solo), with the layered guitars back there…" / "So, it's gonna be THAT the whole episode?" / "We'll thee… for fuckth thake…"
24:03The Edge of Perfection — "I like how they put some proggy elements into their later stuff…" / "You hear the clean guitars back there?" / #victorymetal #usethoseheadphones / "I feel like listening to it now with you guys down here… is a much better experience than listening to it solo…" / "You know when you're already in the mode for something? I knew this was coming out, but I haven't been listening to Anthrax lately…"
29:04Infectious — "Dancing Days… a heavier Dancing Days… Moshing Days…" / "Now it's a KISS song… KISS? I didn't hear no mention of no street hustlers…" / "Did you see Bill's face light up when you said that?" / "That's STP… that sound… maybe that's why it reminded me of Dancing Days…" / "It doesn't sound thrashy at all… it's metal, for sure…" / "To be fair, these guys are in their 60's… they're still making albums…" / "You know what, dude… they were in their 20's then… they're all grandfathers… now they shoot grey haired loads and stuff…"
35:10NYC 93 — "Never forget, btw… that was when they had the bomb in the (WTC) basement…" / "Yeah, that could have been on State of Euphoria… the vibe of it." / "This almost sounds like it could have been on Among the Living even…" / "It ain't worth doing unless you do it to death…" / "That's my motto when it comes to… poon… I'll do it… til I shoot gray haired loads…"
38:07Cursum Perficio — "That just sounds like a very slowed down Anthrax song… like from the 80's…" / "That (chorus riff) sounds like the John Bush stuff right there…" / "I know what it is… with the solo stuff…" #hottake / "For some weird reason, the (guitar) solo stuff sounds like it would work better in King Diamond…" / "He's been with them since '14, so he was on the last album, wasn't he?" NOTE: Yes, Jonathan Donais was on For All Kings / "It's definitely a heavier Anthrax… more progressive, and more melodic Anthrax… the songs are pretty streamlined…" / "In fairness, that was 10 years ago… that was a whole other era… decade… genre…"
43:34T.O.M.B. — "The burp was silent… it's silent when it's pronounced… it was spelled silently…" / "There you go… some meaty bass… it's the best kind of bass." / "Okay, I already like it better on 2nd listen…" / "The melody does kill Bill, in fairness… that's Kill Bill 3 from Quentin Tarantino: The Melody Chronicles." / "Some stuff just connects and some doesn't… it's the connection factor." / (A brief discussion of singers and/or albums that just don't connect with some of us…) / "When (Anthrax) came out, they were the only thrash band with a real singer…" / "The funny thing about melody… to me, melodic singers just sound like a melodic singer… you connect with some better than others… it's the (same) way it is with people." / "The next one… as soon as I saw that title… I immediately thought of the Pantera 3: Watch It Go home video…" (3 Vulgar Videos From Hell)
52:44Watch It Go — "Count this… that's in 9 I think… (the verse riff)" / "(the chorus riff is in…) 7!" / Two Pantera references (Primal Concrete Sledge & Goddamn Electric) / "When I popped that on last night… all I was seeing was shapes and letters turning into colors and math… I don't know how math works, but I think if you add a shape plus a letter and divide it by some squiggly line, you get a color that nobody's ever seen before…" / #markthetime / "It's literally 'shape + letter = color'…"
57:11My Victory — "It definitely does have a Persistence of Time heaviness to it…" / "I do like it better upon the 2nd listen…" / "I still dug the synth pop ZZ Top…" / "I gotta tell you guys real quick… at one point I got on a ZZ Top thing…" / #Deguello / "Dude, ZZ STOP!" / "Man, it's not getting any funnier the more you talk about it…" / "Check out the new ThrashThrax…" / "What's your final verdict?" / "Is it better than the new Exodus or the newest Coroner?" / "I don't think anything is gonna be better than the newest Coroner… I'm sorry, I think Coroner gets Album of the Decade." / NOTE: New Coroner EP — Ex Nucleo - The Remastered Extraction / ***THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!!!*** / #untilthenext #outroreel
- Episode: Metal Nerdery #370 — Anthrax: Cursum Perficio Album Review
- Album: Cursum Perficio — 12th studio album — September 18, 2026
- Label: Megaforce / Nuclear Blast
- First new music since: For All Kings (2016) — a full decade
- The title: Latin for "I complete the course" or "I finish the journey"
- The verdict: "It's definitely a heavier Anthrax… more progressive, and more melodic…"
- Album of the Decade debate: Coroner's Ex Nucleo takes the nod over Cursum Perficio and the new Exodus
- Trivia: "Persistence of Memory" is a real Salvador Dalí painting
- Time signature chaos: Watch It Go — verse in 9, chorus in 7. "Shape + letter = color."
- Patreon After Dark: New exclusive tier — $20/month, available "in the middle of the night"
- Clinky of the Episode: Elvis Midnight Snack — peanut, banana, bacon flavored whiskey
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