ANTHRAX's SCOTT IAN: 'I'm Not A Liberal. I'm A Centrist.'

In a new interview with the Los Angeles Times, ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian spoke about the lyrical inspiration for "It's For The Kids", the first single from the band's latest studio album, "Cursum Perficio". The track, which was written about the ubiquity of school shootings, has led to some naysayers characterizing ANTHRAX as left-wing.

"I'm not a liberal," Ian told Los Angeles Times writer Jon Wiederhorn, who co-wrote Scott's 2014 autobiography "I'm The Man: The Story Of That Guy From Anthrax". "I'm a centrist. I like skeet shooting and I enjoy going to a range and shooting at targets.  But I believe in common sense. And no matter what your political leanings, I think everybody can agree that nobody wants to see an 8-year-old shot in the face, which happens all too often."

"I love this country," ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante, who writes most of the band's music, chimed in. "But that doesn't mean I don't have some problems with it.... The way we go about things in this country is just wrong, and it makes me frustrated to the point where I'm like, 'Fuck it. I'll just put my head down and write a song.'"

This past May, Ian told Allison Hagendorf about the lyrical inspiration for "It's For The Kids": "That's how I deal with anger. As I've learned over the years, anger is fear-based, and certainly having a son has changed my... If it doesn't change your outlook, there's something wrong with you, if it doesn't change the way you feel about things. And, yeah, in some ways, there's more fear in my life because you have a child, and this world we live in has proven to be not a safe place for children anywhere — not just here in the United States. And I have a lot of fear about that, which then, of course, turns into anger about that because nobody does anything. Nobody does anything. Speaking specifically from my point of view as a tax-paying citizen of the United States, I can safely say that the administration in power does nothing to protect the children of this country and does harm to children of other countries all over the world. And if you disagree with that, you're wrong. It's not opinion; it's fact. And the lyrics to this song are my feelings. And it's me spewing anger so it doesn't eat me up."

He added: "It's always been a tool I've used since I was a kid, since I first wrote lyrics on an ANTHRAX record in 1985, it's been a way for me to vent. And it's very cathartic and it's very therapeutic for me. And people say, 'What do you have to be angry about?' I'm, like, look out the window, dude. Yeah, I'm in a band. I fucking love what I do. I get to play guitar. It puts a smile on my face the same way it did when I was nine years old. But I'm a human being with normal human emotions and thoughts and maybe too smart for my own good. [Laughs]"

"Cursum Perficio" arrived on September 18 via Megaforce in the U.S. and Nuclear Blast in Europe. The phrase "Cursum Perficio" is Latin for "My journey has come to an end," "My journey is over," or "I complete my journey."

"Cursum Perficio" topped Billboard's Top Hard Rock Albums chart and entered the Top Album Sales at No. 4 in its first week of release, having earned 22,000 equivalent album units in the United States, according to Luminate. That number includes 21,000 copies in album sales, with 8,000 in vinyl sales, landing the set at No. 7 on the Vinyl Albums chart.

"Cursum Perficio" is 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.

The band dove into recording "Cursum Perficio" in earnest during 2022, working out of Dave Grohl's Studio 606 in Los Angeles. They carefully pieced together what would be this magnum opus, mining their history with reverence, delivering on fan expectations tenfold, and broadening the scope of their signature sound. Produced by Jay Ruston and ANTHRAX, the result is an album that's as angry, aggressive and alive as their most celebrated fare.

ANTHRAX celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2021 with a number of special activities and events. Formed by Ian and bassist Dan Lilker in Queens, New York on July 18, 1981, ANTHRAX was one of the first thrash metal bands to emerge from the East Coast and quickly became regarded as a leader in the genre alongside METALLICA, SLAYER and MEGADETH.

Active over the past five decades, ANTHRAX has released 12 studio albums, been awarded multiple gold and platinum certifications, received six Grammy nominations, toured the world since 1984 playing thousands of shows, including headlining Madison Square Garden and playing Yankee Stadium with the "Big Four".

Photo credit: Travis Shinn