The band is currently on tour with metal icons Iron Maiden
Earlier this week, Anthrax debuted their brand new song “It’s For the Kids” live on tour. The band was opening up for metal legends Iron Maiden on their global Run For Your Lives Tour. The show took place on May 26 at Vasil Levski Stadium in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Watch the fan-filmed footage below.
Fans are certainly stoked about new Anthrax music. The thrash metal titans released “It’s For the Kids” back on May 15, the lead single from their forthcoming studio album Cursum Perficio. The album is slated for arrival on September 18 through Megaforce Records.
In the fall, Anthrax will link up with Iron Maiden once again on the North American leg of their ongoing Run for Your Lives World Tour. The trek is a celebration of the heavy metal legend’s iconic 50th anniversary. The band will be performing at stadiums and major amphitheaters across the United States and Canada, allowing fans the chance to witness the brand new, state-of-the-art production, on the scale it is intended for – huge stages in outdoor venues, to accompany the once-in-a-lifetime setlist of songs from the band’s groundbreaking first nine albums.
Anthrax’s upcoming album is the long awaited follow-up to their decade-old album For All Kings. Released on February 26, 2016, the record marked a major late-career triumph for Anthrax, proving that one of thrash metal’s “Big Four” bands could still sound aggressive, relevant, and creatively energized more than three decades into its career. Issued through Megaforce Records in the United States and Nuclear Blast internationally, the album arrived five years after the acclaimed comeback effort Worship Music and became the band’s first studio release to feature guitarist Jon Donais, who had replaced longtime guitarist Rob Caggiano in 2013. Produced by Jay Ruston, For All Kings blended the band’s classic speed and precision with a darker, more modern heaviness, while also showcasing the fully reestablished chemistry between vocalist Joey Belladonna and the rest of the group.
The writing process for the album began shortly after Donais joined the band. Guitarist Scott Ian, bassist Frank Bello, and drummer Charlie Benante spent much of 2013 and 2014 developing riffs and arrangements, determined to build on the momentum generated by Worship Music. Ian later described the new material as “aggressive” and “riff-ier” than its predecessor, while Benante said the group entered one of the most productive periods in its history, reportedly writing more than 25 songs during the sessions. The band worked primarily in Los Angeles-area studios including TRS West, Steakhouse Studios, and Swing House Studios between 2014 and 2015.
Commercially, For All Kings became Anthrax’s biggest success in decades. The album debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States after selling approximately 34,000 copies in its first week, giving the band its first Top 10 album since 1993’s Sound of White Noise. It also topped the U.S. Hard Rock Albums chart, reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums chart, and performed strongly internationally, including charting in Canada and throughout Europe. The record significantly outperformed Worship Music, which had debuted at No. 12 in 2011. By late 2016, For All Kings had sold roughly 73,000 copies in the United States alone, a strong showing for a veteran thrash metal act in the streaming era.