Anthrax Release 'The Edge Of Perfection' Video From Cursum Perficio Album

Anthrax have released “The Edge Of Perfection,” the second single and video from their upcoming album Cursum Perficio, scheduled for release on September 18, 2026 through Megaforce Records in North America and Nuclear Blast Records internationally.

Cursum Perficio is the band’s long-awaited 12th full-length studio album and marks their first studio record in ten years, following For All Kings in 2016.

“The Edge Of Perfection” follows “It’s For The Kids,” the first single and video from Cursum Perficio.

Rockum previously covered the beginning of this album cycle in Anthrax Announce Cursum Perficio And Release “It’s For The Kids” Video, documenting the album announcement and first single before the release of “The Edge Of Perfection.”

The source material describes “The Edge Of Perfection” as opening with clean guitar echoes and cymbals before moving into blastbeat-driven force, heavy guitars and a central vocal line from Joey Belladonna: “My heart breaks…I’m on the edge…I’m on the edge of perfection.”

Guitarist Scott Ian described the song as one of the strongest pieces in the band’s catalog.

“It’s the apex predator of Anthrax songs,” Ian said. “I think it’s the best song we’ve ever written and the best thing I’ve ever been a part of creatively. What’s the most powerful emotion that moves me more than anything? Of course, it’s love. Nothing moves me like the deep feeling that I get from my wife and son. I’m living on that edge for the rest of my life.”

Ian also connected the song to the album’s broader emotional range.

“Love is perfection, and I like being on the edge of it,” Ian said. “I don’t want everything to be about all of the same shit. This record has a whole bunch of love, a whole bunch of fun, and a little hate.”

Drummer Charlie Benante added:

“When I think about songs like ‘Only’ and ‘Indians,’ you know that you hit something and you can feel it. That’s the way I felt about ‘The Edge Of Perfection.’”

For the video, Anthrax worked with director and Academy Award-winning makeup and effects artist Joel Harlow, known for work connected to Star Trek and Alice In Wonderland.

The clip follows a hero moving from a dream into an evening of magic and underworld evil, with live performance footage intercut throughout the video.

The video also includes appearances by martial artist Wes Scarpias, actress Ashley Edner-Tancharoen, actor Troy James, actor and Academy Award-winning makeup and special effects creator Rick Baker, actor Rod Maxwell and actor Fedor Steer.

Cursum Perficio was recorded in earnest during 2022 at Studio 606 in Los Angeles, the studio owned by Dave Grohl.

The album was produced by Jay Ruston and Anthrax. The source material frames the record as an angry, aggressive and alive body of work that also broadens the scope of the band’s sound.

The phrase Cursum Perficio is Latin and is translated in the source material as “My journey has come to an end,” “My journey is over,” or “I complete my journey.”

TRACKLIST

1. Persistence Of Memory

2. The Long Goodbye

3. It’s For The Kids

4. Everybody’s Got A Plan

5. The Edge Of Perfection

6. Infectious

7. NYC93

8. Cursum Perficio

9. T.O.M.B

10. Watch It Go

11. My Victory

FORMATS

Cursum Perficio will be available in several physical configurations:

Standard CD

Target exclusive CD with a fabric patch of the album cover

Standard black double LP with pop-up gatefold

Target exclusive double LP, red zoetrope with pop-up gatefold

Amazon exclusive double LP, purple zoetrope LP with pop-up gatefold

Merch exclusive lilac vinyl double LP with pop-up gatefold

Metal Injection exclusive white vinyl double LP with pop-up gatefold

Talk Shop Live exclusive signed red ripple vinyl double LP with pop-up gatefold

Indie exclusive red, orange and yellow vinyl double LP with pop-up gatefold

Anthrax formed in New York and became one of the defining names in American thrash metal. With Cursum Perficio, the band enter their first studio album cycle since For All Kings, which was released in 2016 and debuted in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200.

The album also arrives during the band’s fifth decade, following a long period between studio records and a recording process that resumed after the disruption of the pandemic years.

LINEUP

Scott Ian — guitar

Charlie Benante — drums

Frank Bello — bass

Joey Belladonna — vocals

Jonathan Donais — guitar

Through “The Edge Of Perfection,” Anthrax continue the path toward Cursum Perficio with a song centered on love, pressure, intensity and emotional survival. The single follows “It’s For The Kids” and places the band’s first studio album in ten years inside a broader chapter that connects their New York thrash identity, their current lineup and a new release through Megaforce Records and Nuclear Blast Records.

Written by Gino Alache – Music Journalist

Photo Credit: Travis Shinn

Watch the official video for “The Edge Of Perfection” below.