On Cursum Perficio, Anthrax chases perfection and calls out a broken America

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Set us as preferred Moments after the final rapid-fire rhythm of Anthrax’s opening number “Caught in a Mosh” fades from the open air of the Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, N.J., shaggy-headed vocalist Joey Belladonna addresses the audience.“I gotta ask everybody out there right now.

Who’s never seen Anthrax before?” Around half of the 6,000-or-so crowd members who showed up by 6 p.m.for the three-band bill, headlined by heavy metal legends Iron Maiden, raise their hands.

“Ah, yeah! We got a lot of new friends here today.Thank you for being here.”Some bands with a four-decade career would be disappointed by the turnout, or by the realization that many fans not wearing Maiden shirts are dressed in Megadeth merch.

But for Anthrax, preaching to the unconverted is an opportunity to expand their fan base beyond the somewhat insular community of thrash metal, a style of music that took the aggression of bands like Iron Maiden and turbocharged it with the speed and fury of hardcore punk.As much as Anthrax cherish being one of the “Big Four” — Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax — playing a 35-minute set well before dark is a great way to reach new listeners.“We have a strong base of fans that are deeply into this band, but we know there are also people that have never listened to this type of music before,” says bald-headed, gray-bearded rhythm guitarist and lyricist Scott Ian from his home office outside of L.A.

a week before the show.“They’ve heard band names, but maybe they haven’t dipped their toe in the water.

So, it would be great to reach them and give them something they didn’t even know they wanted and then they’ll fall in love with it.”A full 10 years have passed since Anthrax released their last studio album, “For All Kings,” which helps explain why they’re n...