10 Best Hard Rock Albums Of The 2020s So Far

1. GLOW ON - Turnstile

Stylised in all caps because they're well cool, GLOW ON from punk rockers Turnstile marked some big changes for the band.

This was the first album to feature a guest star, as Blood Orange makes an appearance. It was also produced by Mike Elizondo, a Grammy winner who's worked with everyone from Twenty One Pilots to Eminem to Carrie Underwood.

Sadly, there's no cover of Before He Cheats on this album.

What GLOW ON does contain is a vibrant hybrid of hardcore punk, shoegaze, and indie, balancing wrist-busting power chords with floaty synths and dreamy-sounding production. The sounds on this album are intense and captivating all at once, never letting up once across its 35-minute runtime.

Critics absolutely adored this album, and it's not hard to see why. The record not only made several publications' Best Rock lists at the end of 2021, but also featured prominently on some outlets' Best Albums of the Year compilations.

A furious and fascinating output from a group who take hard rock very seriously, GLOW ON is a transformative experience that will leave you speechless in the best way possible.

Even if the all caps thing is a little played out by now.

Contributor
Contributor

Jacob Simmons has a great many passions, including rock music, giving acclaimed films three-and-a-half stars, watching random clips from The Simpsons on YouTube at 3am, and writing about himself in the third person.