Anthrax‘s long-awaited comeback is finally upon us. The Queens, NY thrash metal pillars premiered their new song “It’s For The Kids” tonight as the lead single from their first new album since 2016’s “For All Kings“. A throwback video for it was shot with director Don Argott, with the band’s camp stating of it:
“Filmed on a cold rainy December day at the notorious Pennhurst Asylum the video is a throwback to Anthrax‘s first video ‘Madhouse‘. Many of the details were recreated for this video, including the frigid filming conditions! The fans are the true lifeblood of this video. They got an early taste of the music and brought this filming to life. “
That band’s twelfth studio album has been titled “Cursum Perficio“, and was recorded with producer Jay Ruston (Stone Sour, Armored Saint). The track listing for it leaked out earlier this week, while pre-orders for it can be found now via orcd.co/cursumperficio.
Guitarist/vocalist Scott Ian stated of this record:
“It was quite a journey from the inception of this album to its completion. We were supposed to make this in 2020, but the universe had other plans for everyone. After the Pandemic, we got to be a band again. When we started working on the record, we were just happy to be in a room together.
It was so exciting that it was like being reborn in a way. All of that energy and emotion went into the music. The fear of being forced out of our lives and the joy of coming back together are present. The title ‘Cursum Perficio’ feels like Anthrax. It resembled what we went through to get to the point of finishing the record.”
Drummer Charlie Benante added:
“There was an awful lot of growth between Worship Music in 2011 and Cursum Perficio. This album is a culmination of everything we’ve learned. I was watching a Marilyn Monroe documentary, and I saw ‘Cursum Perficio’ written on a tile in her last home. When I found out what the phrase meant, it immediately clicked with me. We aren’t saying this is our last record, but our journey has come to an end. I believe we’ve completed the task.”
Ian added:
“We had to make Fistful Of Metal and Spreading The Disease to be able to write Among The Living”. In the same respect, it took Worship Music and For All Kings for us to be able to write Cursum Perficio. I very much compare this record to Among The Living.”
Bassist/vocalist Frank Bello shared:
“We left it all on the table. We really know who we are as Anthrax, what turns us on, and what we need to do. I don’t think anybody knows what’s next, but we’re hungrier than ever. From here on out, we’re going to go full throttle for every fucking minute.”
As for this new video and single, Ian stated:
“A friend of mine said, ‘It’s For The Kids’ is a straight-up love letter to your fans,. That’s exactly what I wanted it to be. The album needed a four-minute thrash song that harkened back to our first era. Whether it’s the aggression or the big chorus, it represents all the best parts of Anthrax in a very angry four-minute package. For the video, we wanted to throw back to our ‘Madhouse’ video–thematically it just made sense and this idea opened the door for us to share the experience with our fans. For all of us!”
Benante added:
“The video for ‘It’s For the Kids’ turned out really well,. I don’t necessarily like doing videos and this one had elements of things that I really love. There were fans in it, they showed up, they enjoyed it, it made me enjoy the video just seeing them enjoy it. Hearing the song for the first time, their reaction to it, and just the interaction with them was just great.
I think the director did a great job on it. It’s kind of a throwback to our first ever video, ‘Madhouse.’ So I think fans are gonna see it and think ‘oh look at that, I see what they did.’ But yeah, great song and a great video. ‘It’s For the Kids’ is one of the songs that I felt was so strong, and the riff behind it and the rhythm behind it was almost like a tug of war, it’s like a push pull. It has this tension to it where the drums are just playing at a high pace speed, and the guitars are doing pretty much quarter notes with it. And the drums are just going full speed ahead.
One of my favorite songs on the record and one of my favorite riffs. I really think this song is a gift to Anthrax fans who have been with us throughout the years. This basically is Anthrax at its best. Fast paced, thrashing, melodic fucking metal.”
Weighing in on the single, vocalist Joey Belladonna shared:
“When I hear certain tracks, I immediately go, ‘I want to do this song. It might have a shot. Even the first time I started singing a tune like ‘Madhouse,’ I figured it was going to be a strong one. You just know. There’s a lot of variety to each of our records. To me, ‘It’s For The Kids’ is nice, straight-up Anthrax. It has a lot of fire and a punch to it. Vocally, it’s really cooking. It was definitely fun to hammer down on this one and put a lot of drive into it.”
Guitarist Jon Donais also shared his thoughts on this lead track, offering:
“‘It’s For The Kids’ is a right to the point thrasher. It’s fast, aggressive, catchy and definitely going to be a fun one live. I love the ‘Madhouse’ inspired throwback vibe of this video. Involving the fans and capturing their reactions to a new song adds some energy that really stands out.”
Bello went on to add:
“I’m psyched for people to hear ‘It’s For The Kids‘! This is a heavy, driving song with a big hook chorus-a combination of classic Anthrax and current- I can’t wait to play it live! Had a (cold!) blast filming the video too. It’s a great, energy packed video with a bunch of amazing Anthrax fans having a good time on a freezing day in Pennsylvania. The metal kept us all warm.”
