Anthrax – Cursum Perficio

Anthrax are no strangers to long periods between albums, but Cursum Perficio marks the longest wait yet. Ten years have passed since the release of their previous studio album, For All Kings.

On the other hand, the album sees Anthrax release two consecutive albums with the same lineup, while once again working with producer Jay Ruston. Unlike previous occasions, when long gaps between albums could be attributed at least partly to lineup changes, this time there has been no such disruption. Instead, Scott Ian and Charlie Benante’s involvement with other projects, including Mr. Bungle and Pantera respectively, has been one of the factors contributing to the long wait.

The band released the first single, “It’s For The Kids”, back in May and had already played it live when they visited Copenhell earlier this year.

Sonically, Anthrax continue down the path established over their last two albums. Cursum Perficio is clean and modern sounding, although there is slightly more of that classic Anthrax character in the drum sound this time around. It is a welcome change and something that has been missed since We’ve Come for You All.

Anthrax, much like many of their peers, have had their share of experimentation over the years. But expecting a band this late into their career, particularly one that has already survived the various waves of metal that have come and gone, to suddenly reinvent themselves would be peculiar. It therefore comes as no surprise that Cursum Perficio does what Anthrax do best: delivering an unapologetic modern thrash metal record while maintaining respect for the roots they helped establish back in the day.

The album is characterised by hooks. Melodies, riffs, guitar leads and rhythms all provide earworm moments, and with the clean production and vocals pushed prominently into the mix, it makes for an immediately accessible listening experience. It comes across that way from the very first spin.

Across its 11 tracks, the band touches upon most of the trademarks that have defined Anthrax throughout their career. “It’s For The Kids” and “NYC 93” deliver the old-school punch, “The Long Goodbye” and “Everybody’s Got a Plan” represent the band’s knack for catchy, melodic material, while “The Edge of Perfection” and the title track provide those more expansive Anthrax epics. Even the criminally underrated John Bush era of the band gets a nod in the magnificently blistering “Watch It Go”.

There are a few place-fillers along the way, and while none of them are bad songs, they do dilute the overall experience somewhat. The album has plenty of individual hooks and moments, but there are fewer occasions where Anthrax truly surprise or transcend the formula they have established over the past decade.

And that is perhaps the most interesting thing about Cursum Perficio. More than ten years might have passed since For All Kings, but musically this is an utterly logical next step. The band are essentially continuing along the same path they have followed since Joey Belladonna rejoined for Worship Music. The long wait has not resulted in a radical reinvention. Instead, it has resulted in a consolidation of the Anthrax sound.

The fact that ten years have passed since the release of their previous album does not mean that the songwriting on Cursum Perficio feels like ten years in the making. There is plenty of quality at the core of the songwriting, but appart from “The Edge of Perfection” and “Watch It Go” there is not much that comes across as remarkable. The album sounds like a band that knows exactly what it wants to do, rather than one that has spent a decade trying to figure out where to go next.

The title Cursum Perficio roughly translates as “I complete my journey”, and while it should not necessarily be read as a statement that Anthrax are calling it a day, it is an appropriate title for an album that feels so conscious of the band’s history. It brings together many of the different sides of Anthrax without attempting to rewrite their story.

And perhaps that is both its greatest strength and its biggest weakness. Cursum Perficio is a solid and highly representative Anthrax album. It has the riffs, the hooks, the melodies, the attitude and enough variation to remind you why the band have endured for more than four decades.

But after a ten-year wait, “representative” feels like a slightly underwhelming destination.

Anthrax have made an album that completes a journey rather than opening a new chapter. Perhaps that is appropriate. It is certainly strong, but not much more than that.

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