"We are watching people be pushed out of their homes here in America, in Palestine, in Sudan, in Iran, everywhere." Turnstile reflect on their historic Grammy Awards triumph and vow to keep making music in solidarity with "voices that are buried"

(Image credit: Julian Hamilton/WireImage)

Turnstile have shared their thoughts on their historic Grammy Awards wins, and vowed to keep making music in solidarity with "voices that are buried, that are searching, that are alien."

The Baltimore hardcore band were nominated in five categories ahead of last weekend's ceremony in Los Angeles (held on February 1), took home the Best Rock Album for last year's Never Enough, plus the Best Metal Performance award for single Birds, becoming the first punk band to triumph in both categories.

On the night, frontman Brendan Yates saluted the scene the US band now lead, saying "The community we found through punk and hardcore music has given us a safe place to swing in the dark and land somewhere beautiful."

In a follow-up post on Instagram, the quintet reflected upon their wins, and affirmed their intention to keep making music that, while not explicitly political, comes from a place of solidarity with the oppressed and the voiceless, at a time of great global turmoil.

They posted: "On Sunday our band won 2 Grammys for Best Rock Album & Best Metal Performance. We never thought we’d be in these rooms, but we are very grateful to be here.

"This band has never been about the individual, but rather about a collective searching for a common thread in a world where those threads are being hidden from us.

"The world likes to tell us who we are and what we’re not, but the truth is we belong to nothing and we belong to everyone.

"We’re existing in a time of heightened state violence," the statement continues. "We are watching people be pushed out of their homes here in America, in Palestine, in Sudan, in Iran, everywhere, as if they don’t belong to them. As if we don’t belong to each other. Music is a vehicle for voices that are buried, that are searching, that are alien. Turnstile has always existed as an alien thing.

"Thank you to our family, our friends, our partners, our peers for continuing to shape us and give us a sense of belonging. Thank you to anyone who has ever come to a show and swung in the dark with us. Thank you to our team who fight for us to be in the room. Thank you to Baltimore for giving us a stage. Thank you to everyone who has allowed this band to be a mirror for this community. Thank you.

"With love, TURNSTILE"

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The quintet's statement comes in the wake of their former guitarist Brady Ebert suggesting that Turnstile's positions on political and social issues are not heart felt.

Ebert voiced his opinion in a since-deleted social media comment seemingly inspired by his former band calling for the abolition of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency following the killing in Minnesota of Renee Good and Alex Pretti during peaceful protests against the organisation. US President Donald Trump recently claimed that the two American citizens were "no angels".

“No one in Turnstile cares at all about ethics or social issues in general, they’re just pandering to their audience,” Ebert wrote, later removing his comment.

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.

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