ANTHRAX's JOEY BELLADONNA On Recording Vocals With Longtime Producer JAY RUSTON: 'I Got To Be Me, Really'

In a new interview with Finland's Chaoszine, ANTHRAX singer Joey Belladonna was asked if there are specific albums that he could pinpoint in the band's discography where he took "big steps forward as a vocalist" or "learned something new" about himself. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Oh, I just think the last three records that we did [2011's 'Worship Music', 2016's 'For All Kings' and 2026's 'Cursum Perficio']. For some reason, I just... I think working with [producer] Jay Ruston and the producing part of it with nobody there, and I have a lot more attention on what I'm doing, and not being schooled and pushed and pulled from every direction when you're trying to get something done. So I think those three records, really, I think there was much more focus, and I think the ability has risen a little better because I don't have the distractions. I got to be me, really, where I don't really get a chance to be me in a lot of this stuff because we're not building it from the beginning. The songs are kind of built already, and I kind of have to come in. It's like if I wanted to change a wall in a house because I think the room's too small, it's too late… There's a lot of foundation [already there]. But at the same time, with it being newer and with someone like Jay and I working together alone, we've had a lot more success. So I think the vocals... whether I sing better than I did on the first album versus now, I don't know. But it feels good. It feels strong and it feels fresh."

Asked if he tried anything new vocally on ANTHRAX's upcoming album "Cursum Perficio" that he hadn't done before, Joey said: "Not necessarily, because I think the music really has a... there's a box that I kind of have to kind of stay in there. I mean, there might be some stuff that I don't even realize that you might catch or someone else might hear, which is cool. Sometimes it's beyond me to know that I've done something different. It's just what they hear.

"I really hadn't had a chance to do anything really above and beyond yet," Belladonna explained. "I mean, even in the earlier days, I might have took out a few more notes, where this time around we're doing a lot more pocket singing, or if you wanna call it just really getting down in the grind of it all versus maybe a higher note or a lower note. Yeah, I don't think so yet. Without really doing something completely different musically, where I can [go], 'Here, check this song. Now you can go crazy on this one,' I haven't yet."

"Cursum Perficio" will be released on September 18 via Megaforce in the U.S. and Nuclear Blast in Europe. It marks the band's first record in ten years since 2016's "For All Kings", which debuted in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200. The phrase "Cursum Perficio" is Latin for "My journey has come to an end," "My journey is over," or "I complete my journey."

ANTHRAX played the LP's first single, "It's For The Kids", live for the first time during the band's concert on May 26 at Vasil Levski Stadium in Sofia, Bulgaria as the support act for IRON MAIDEN.

"Cursum Perficio" will be available as a 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 with red ripple vinyl double LP with pop-up gatefold; Indie-exclusive red, orange yellow vinyl double LP with pop-up gatefold.

"It's For The Kids" was previously described in a press release as "a classic ANTHRAX ripper locked and loaded with buzzsaw-sharp riffs, explosive drumming, and a howling and head-banging hook. It undoubtedly has all the makings of a future live staple."

Photo credit: Travis Shinn