Anthrax bassist Frank Bello describes the band’s new album, «Cursum Perficio», as darker than their previous record, saying that mood came on its own and shows where the band is right now.
He spoke to Gino Alache for «Rockum TV», in an interview given before the album’s release. «Cursum Perficio» is Anthrax’s 12th studio album and their first since 2016’s «For All Kings», which broke into the Top 10 of the Billboard 200.
Darker sound
«I think it’s a darker album. It comes from a darker place, for whatever reason,» Bello said. He can’t explain why it happened, but says it suits him well, because it matches how heavy the material is: «You don’t think about it, it just comes.» He noted that everyone is a sponge and what happens around you shapes your mood, and he promised that after the first three singles there’s even heavier material: «If you like this, wait till you hear the next one.»
Writing got harder
He explained that getting together to write has become harder, since the three main songwriters live in different cities: Scott Ian in Los Angeles, Charlie Benante in Chicago and himself in New York. Their usual habit is to rent a rehearsal space in Los Angeles and the three of them work together. That’s how it went on the new record too, with short windows whenever they were all available. Attempts to write remotely during the pandemic didn’t work: there was audio latency and no feel, since the three of them need to see each other when they write.
Like a fan
Bello said he places a lot of importance on the audience’s reaction, because he himself feels like a fan of the band. As he put it, a song has to sit well in his gut for it to go out as an Anthrax track, and the whole process fuels his fire. Asked whether they plan the record’s sound in advance, he said no: «We know it’s going to be heavy, because Anthrax are a heavy band. When we’re in the same room and we start banging our heads, we say okay, this stays.»
More on the same side of metal: Scott Ian of Anthrax: «I’m not a liberal, I’m a centrist».
The album and the releases
«Cursum Perficio» was released on September 18, 2026 by Megaforce in the US and Nuclear Blast in Europe. The title is a Latin phrase that translates as «my journey is finished». The fourth single was the title track, in a black-and-white video directed by documentary filmmaker Don Argott, known for Lamb Of God’s «As The Palaces Burn», featuring London May, who played drums and bass at different times in Glenn Danzig’s Samhain. The previous singles came out over the summer: «It’s For The Kids» in May, «The Edge Of Perfection» in July and «Everybody’s Got A Plan» in August. Anthrax are also support on the US leg of Iron Maiden’s «Run For Your Lives World Tour», along with Megadeth.
See also: Anthrax’s single «Everybody’s Got A Plan» and «The Edge Of Perfection».
See also: Gwar: The «School’s Out» video in HD — the 20th anniversary edition of «Beyond Hell» is coming
Source: https://blabbermouth.net/news/anthraxs-frank-bello-on-darker-sound-of-cursum-perficio-album-its-just-where-were-at-right-now
