No-one, not even the most iconic of musicians, can fight the passage of time, a lesson that’s confronting the heavy metal community constantly these days: with Slayer relegated to reunion shows and Megadeth confirming their self-titled album to be their last, even the big four of thrash— a cultural institution if ever the genre had one— are finally riding into the sunset. Anthrax may have always been the underdogs of the group, but all eyes are on them to keep the spirit of the 80s alive with new record ‘Cursum Perficio.’ If this really is Belladonna and company’s last hurrah, it’s a solid exit.

Anthrax were the scrappy punk rockers of the big four, and they still are all these years later: a decade since their last effort ‘For All Kings,’ the band’s sound remains unchanged, for better and for worse. No-one was expecting the group to reinvent themselves forty years into their careers, which may explain why ‘Cursum Perficio’ plays its legacy thrash routine so straight— in fairness, it is heartwarming to see Scott Ian staying true to his roots right to the end, with closer ‘My Victory’ acting as a cheery summation of every success story the band have had across their careers. Even despite their age, Anthrax are still able to bring the energy that made records like ‘Spreading The Disease’ and ‘Persistence Of Time’ such classics. Single ‘It’s For The Kids’ has Belladonna’s signature wailing vocals and Ian’s shred-tastic lead work on full display.

If ‘Cursum Perficio’ does stand apart from the rest of the group’s catalogue, it dwells in the shadow of the knowledge that this is likely to be Anthrax’s final word. The record is littered with references to this inescapable fact, right down to its title: it’s for this reason that the album feels somewhat more momentous than previous outings, like Belladonna and company are determined to go out on a grandiose note. You have to give credit to the project’s title track, which may just be the strongest on offer here in spite of its middling tempo— between its climactic choruses and its ripping solos, the cut is a triumphant declaration of acceptance, and an anthemic number to boot. It’s certainly more musically sound than Megadeth’s effort from earlier this year, at the very least.

So then, Anthrax have a clear mission statement going into their latest album: they’re here to go out with a bang, celebrating what came before as they bring it all to a close. ‘NYC 93’ is a throwback if we’ve ever seen one, bringing the band back to their chipper punk roots with its “it ain’t worth doing ‘less you do it to death” refrain and its excitable riff changes, and it’s this energy that makes ‘Cursum Perficio’ such a fun romp from the thrash legends. ‘It’s For The Kids’ and ‘Everybody’s Got A Plan’ are undeniably goofy tunes that hardly set out to break the mould, but they work very well in the context of Anthrax’s discography. It doesn’t hurt, of course, to hear that the band are running circles around the other members of the big four as far as energy and showmanship are concerned.

The record is a fun bash-around from a band who’ve earned the right to not take themselves too seriously, and that’s all it really needed to be— of course, that does open ‘Cursum Perficio’ up to the criticism of contributing little to the landscape of metal as it currently stands. This is a fairly safe outing, as its bone-dry production indicates from the off: with the nothing-burger ‘Persistence of Memory’ and the odd misstep in tension-and-release ‘The Last Goodbye’ opening the project, Anthrax betray that this isn’t exactly up there with ‘Among The Living.’ If we’re being honest, the by-the-numbers stomp of ‘Infectious’ and the rather forgettable ‘Watch It Go’ didn’t need to be extended past the five minute mark. It’s here that the band’s age finally begins to catch up with them, despite their obvious (and appreciated) best efforts.

‘Cursum Perficio’ isn’t going to set the world on fire, sure, but it does exactly what it set out to do: in underdog fashion, the record outshines the likes of ‘Repentless,’ ‘72 Seasons’ and ‘Megadeth,’ standing as the strongest recent effort from the big four. If Anthrax are closing the book with this one, they’ve done a good job etching their name into the annals of heavy metal history: in their own way, they’re on the edge of perfection.