Anthrax Return to No. 1 on Hard Rock Chart After 10-Year Gap

Anthrax are back at No. 1.

The thrash band's new album Cursum Perficio has debuted on top of Billboard's Top Hard Rock Albums chart dated Oct. 3, the band's first chart-topper in a decade, according to Billboard.

It is Anthrax's second No. 1 on that chart. The first came with For All Kings in 2016, the direct predecessor to the new record. Billboard's Top Hard Rock Albums chart began in 2007.

The numbers are clear. In the week ending Sept. 24, Cursum Perficio earned 22,000 equivalent album units in the United States, according to Luminate. That is the measure that converts streams and sales into album sales. Pure album sales accounted for 21,000 of that total.

Physical buying did much of the work. The album sold 8,000 copies on vinyl in its debut week. It opened at No. 4 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart and at No. 7 on the Vinyl Albums chart.

Cursum Perficio is Anthrax's 12th studio album. It was released worldwide on Sept. 18, 2026, and is the group's first new LP in 10 years. The band had announced the September release alongside first single "It's For The Kids".

The album also reached the main US albums chart. It debuted at No. 27 on the Billboard 200, giving Anthrax a seventh top 40 entry. Fourteen Anthrax releases have appeared on that chart, dating back to second album Spreading the Disease in 1985.

The band's best peak remains No. 7, set by 1993's Sound of White Noise. Sound of White Noise and For All Kings are the group's two top 10 albums on the Billboard 200.

What makes this stand out is the gap. Ten years between LPs is a long time to hold an audience. For fans, this means a return that still counts in sales, streams and on vinyl.