Grammys 2026: Turnstile Wins Best Metal Performance
The Recording Academy has a complicated relationship with heavy metal music. For years, metal and hardcore fans at the Grammys have rolled their eyes at the nominations, often feeling like the voters simply gave the best metal performance award to the band with the most recognizable name from the 1990s. But at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, something has shifted.
Turnstile Receives Multiple Grammy Nominations
In a move that feels like a passing of the torch, Baltimore’s own Turnstile didn’t just show up – they cleaned up. If you’ve been paying attention to the trajectory of modern rock, this wasn’t a surprise; it was an inevitability. Turnstile walked away with two massive awards, including the coveted best metal performance, signals that the industry is finally ready to embrace the genre-bending evolution of heavy music.
A Historic Win for “Birds”
A highlight of the night – at least for those of us who live to mosh in the pit – was Turnstile. The band took home the Grammy for best metal performance for their track “Birds.”
This wasn’t an easy category to win. The band was up against absolute titans and modern heavyweights. We’re talking about Dream Theater (tech-metal royalty), Ghost (arena-fillers), powerful, female-fronted Spiritbox, and the mysterious juggernaut that is Sleep Token. Any other year, the Academy might have played it safe. But “Birds,” a standout track from their latest album Never Enough, captures an energy that is impossible to ignore. It’s frantic, melodic, and undeniably heavy without relying on the somewhat tired old tropes of the genre.
While it’s a bummer that these awards are often relegated to the pre-telecast ceremony (seriously, Recording Academy, PLEASE do better), the weight of the win remains. It validates a sound that started in cramped DIY basements with an old PA, and has now conquered the biggest stage in music.
Turnstile Also Conquers the Rock Category
As if dominating the metal category wasn’t enough, Turnstile also snagged the award for Best Rock Album for Never Enough. Take a look at the competition they dusted – Deftones, HAIM, Yungblud, and even Linkin Park’s album, From Zero. Beating out a legacy act like Linkin Park and the “cool-kid prestige” of Deftones is a pretty big statement. It proves that Never Enough isn’t just a great “punk” record – or even a “hardcore” record; it is arguably the defining rock record of the year.
The band’s frontman, Brendan Yates, summed it up perfectly in his acceptance speech. He didn’t thank a label executive or talk about sales figures. He talked about the scene. Per Revolver, Yates stated:
“The community we found through punk and hardcore music has given us a safe place to swing in the dark and land somewhere beautiful,”
That’s the human element that has been missing from rock n’ roll at this level for a long time.
What The “Turnstile Shift” Means
What makes Turnstile’s night at the Grammys so significant isn’t just the hardware; it’s the precedent it sets. Turnstile became the first band to ever pull in nominations across the Rock, Alternative, and Metal categories in a single year.
They are too heavy for alternative, too melodic for traditional metal, and too weird for standard rock radio. Yet somehow they won in all those spaces. This trifecta of nominations – and their subsequent wins – destroys the idea that bands need to stay in their lane. Turnstile has spent over a decade blurring lines, touring with everyone from Blink-182 to My Chemical Romance, and forcing audiences to expand their definition of what heavy music can ultimately look and sound like.
What’s the Future of Heavy Music?
For the longest time, there was a worry that once the stadium headliners of the 90s retired, rock (and metal) would have nobody left to carry the flag. Turnstile has now silenced that fear. They have proved that you can evolve, you can experiment, and you can bring a distinct, authentic hardcore ethos to the mainstream without selling out.
If Never Enough, “Seein’ Stars,” and “Birds” are the standard for what the Grammys consider the pinnacle of music in 2026, then we can safely we are in pretty good hands. The gatekeepers have finally opened the gate, and Turnstile just two-stepped right through it.
