Anthrax is a thrash metal band from Queens, New York consisting of rhythm guitarist Scott Ian, drummer Charlie Benante, bassist Frank Bello, lead guitarist Jon Donais & frontman Joey Belladonna. Making their full-length debut in 1984 with Fistful of Metal under Megaforce Records, the Island Records-backed sophomore effort Spread the Disease & Among the Living would both cement themselves as one of thrash’s Big 4 pioneers. State of Euphoria & Persistence of Time were both solid too although I can’t say the same for their Elektra Records debut Sound of White Noise or Stomp 442 & Volume 8: The Threat is Real. We’ve Come for You All was a tight return to form for them but coming off the superior Worship Music & For All Kings through Megaforce in tandem with Nuclear Blast Records, they’re reuniting for their 12th studio LP.

After the “Persistence of Memory” intro, “The Long Goodbye” opens up with an ode to Charlie’s father battling Alzheimer’s whereas “It’s For the Kids”combines thrash & groove metal so Joey can sing about always sticking to the plan without having to make any improvisations. “Everybody’s Got a Plan”swaps out the thrash elements in favor of a traditional heavy metal sound with a groove metal twist quoting WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson while “The Edge of Perfection” masterfully blends heavy metal, groove metal, thrash metal, progressive metal, blackgaze, black metal.

“NYC 93” enjoyably throws it back to the Sound of White Noise Days days which is widely accepted as the best of the 3 offerings to come outta the John Bush-era as someone who personally wasn’t a fan of that point in the band’s career while the title track sings about reaching the end of a journey. “T.O.M.B.” poses the question of what could go wrong after stealing silver from the eyes of a dead man & after the thrashy “Watch It Go” sings about bartering evil as necessary by any means, “My Victory” concludes Cursum Perficiopondering if one can win the hearts & minds with or without them.

There were some concerns whether or not Anthrax was gonna hang it up after Cursum Perficio until Charlie Benante confirmed that wasn’t the case but nevertheless, I can confidently place this decade-long comeback above Worship to hold the bragging rights of being the finest material they’ve made this century. They threw out a bunch of old tunes they’ve already had since at least 2023 & made some new ones inspired by thrash metal, groove metal, heavy metal, progressive metal, blackgaze & black metal documenting their entire journey to stardom.

Score: 4/5

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