Turnstile have been awarded the Kerrang! album of the year

Let’s be real: 2025 belongs to Turnstile. When their 2021 album GLOW ON shattered any and all notion of what a hardcore band could and should be, sending shockwaves through a scene that was already bursting with rejuvenated energy and a surge in genuinely exciting bands, the Baltimore punks found themselves riding the crest of a wave of their own making. Indebted to a love of Bad Brains, Nirvana and Fugazi, their unique sound was just as informed by passion for shoegaze, pop and R&B, and through this blurring of the lines, they became the gateway drug for a generation of fans now packing out venues everywhere, having captured lightning in a bottle.

But could they do it again? The answer, it won’t surprise you, was yes. NEVER ENOUGH takes the foundations laid down by GLOW ON to build a veritable cathedral of creativity, a monument to innovation and imagination, as Turnstile proved once again that they are the bar setters and the world around them is simply playing catch-up. Growing up immersed in the local hardcore scene, they’ve taken that hard-won knowledge and die-hard mentality to prove what’s possible on a multitude of levels – not just finding themselves experimenting with pan pipes, steel drums and seemingly The Police’s pedalboard – but the strength and success of NEVER ENOUGH saw them headline the debut Outbreak London as well as their biggest-ever UK tour including the 10,000-capacity Alexandra Palace, which had one of the rowdiest, most up-for-it crowds we’ve ever seen at that venue.

And it’s all because there’s something for people to connect with on NEVER ENOUGH. Even though Turnstile have transcended from house shows to arenas and find themselves running riot at the likes of Coachella and Glastonbury, they are still our band. Their win is a win for bands everywhere, and shows what you can achieve by simply following what you believe in, even if that means breaking away from convention and the rules set out in front of you. This writer remembers seeing Turnstile in the 250-capacity Boston Music Room in London in 2018, and now they’re playing to 40-times that many people thanks to the courage in their convictions and an insatiable desire to reject conformity, which is so perfectly encapsulated on NEVER ENOUGH. It somehow still doesn’t feel like Turnstile’s final form, but will go down as a turning point not just for them, but all of alternative music.

Read the full Kerrang! top 50 albums of 2025 here.

Read this next:

• Who are Turnstile’s fans?
• “People are seeking a sense of belonging, a sense of connection, a feeling of authenticity and real emotion”: Inside the resurgence of hardcore
  
• Turnstile’s Brendan Yates: The 10 songs that changed my life