Before we delve into the Grammy nominations for Best Rock Album, a mea culpa is in order: Our predictions were really, really off this year. We looked at wins for Ozzy Osbourne and the Rolling Stones in recent years, and concluded that the Recording Academy was going to stick with the old timers and give the prize to David Gilmour for Luck and Strange. Well, Gilmour wasn’t even nominated. They also put up the Cure’s Songs of a Lost World and Wet Leg’s Moisturizer for Best Alternative Music Album as opposed to Best Rock Album. But, hey, at least we were right about Yunglud’s Idols getting the nod. To very roughly paraphrase the words of 1994 Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo winner Meatloaf, one out of five ain’t bad.
The Nominees
Deftones – Private Music
Haim – I Quit
Linkin Park – From Zero
Turnstile – Never Enough
Yungblud – Idols
The Lowdown
The first big surprise this year was the nomination for Linkin Park’s comeback LP, From Zero. It’s their first record in seven years, the first since the death of of Chester Bennington, and the formal introduction of new vocalist Emily Armstrong. Linkin Park’s sole Best Rock Album nomination came all the way back in 2002 when Hybrid Theory lost out to U2’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind. And even though From Zero revived the group and got them back on the road, it wasn’t universally loved.
“This was surprising since the reaction has been mixed from a radio perspective,” says Jason Squires, program director of KFRR in Fresno, California. “But they’re selling tickets and everything else. I also think they [replaced Bennington] in a good way since they didn’t try to get a dude from a tribute or anything like that. They brought in someone completely different. They should be commended for that.”
The Deftones emerged from roughly the same nu-metal scene that birthed Linkin Park back in the Nineties, but they abandoned that sound quite a while ago and have built up a large and loyal following despite flying just below the mainstream cultural radar. Their new LP Private Music is excellent. “It arrived with no gimmick or plea for relevancy,” wrote Rolling Stone‘s Hank Shteamer. “It’s simply another great record from an outfit that already sounded fully confident in its core aesthetic — a juxtaposition of grinding alt-metal riffage, and deep, sensuous yearning.”
Editor’s picks
Haim’s nomination for I Quit isn’t surprising because they were put up for Best Rock Performance and Album of the Year in 2021, and 2022’s Evermore got the nod for Album of the Year. I Quit was a critical favorite that brought them to venues like New York’s Madison Square Garden for the first time. “I really like these ladies,” says SiriusXM DJ Justin Kade. “But they’re another act that, much like Machine Gun Kelly, can’t find their lane. They’re too pop for indie, and too indie for pop. If it were the Nineties, they’d fit in with the Sheryl Crows and Alanis Morissettes, but that sound doesn’t really exist in 2025. All that said, music is in their blood, and I really like this album. ‘Down to Be Wrong’ and ‘Everybody’s Tying to Figure Me Out’ are both amazing.”
Turnstile has yet to win a Grammy despite nominations for Best Metal Performance, Best Rock Song, and Best Best Rock Song and Best Metal Performance Back in 2023. Odds are pretty decent they’ll pick up at least one this year because they’re up in five categories: Best Alternative Music Performance, Best Metal Performance, Best Rock Performance, and Best Rock Album. The latter nomination is for their new album Never Enough.
“Turnstile’s much-anticipated follow-up to 2021’s massive Glow On is like a mysterious gallery,” wrote Rolling Stone‘s Brenna Ehrlich. “It’s not so much a collection of tracks, but impressions, aural vignettes that are more about a feeling than a message — a vibe that listeners can pursue at their leisure, like wandering through an echoing portrait hall.”
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And finally we come to Yungblud’s Idols, the sole album we successfulyl predicted would get a Best Rock Album nomination. “He’s been embraced by a rock audience more than guys like Machine Gun Kelly or Grandson,” says Kade. “The guys sells tickets. There’s already a passion for him. Keep an eye on him as we head into 2026.”
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Who Should Win
Deftones — Private Music
It’s been nearly a quarter century since the Deftones last scooped up a Grammy, and Private Music is one of their single best albums. “More and more people are coming around to the Deftones and realizing they’re not like, say, Kid Rock,” says Squires. “They’re a really good band with a heavy vibe. They’ve finally gotten over the hump of how they’ve been perceived in this industry. And they’re just everything I like about rock music.”
Who Will Win
Turnstile – Never Enough
This is clearly a breakthrough year for Turnstile since they have five nominations. If they pick up one, expect it to be for Best Rock Album. “They do this post-hardcore thing that’s palatable for everyone,” says Squires. “And they’re not a nostalgic band. They represent a new generation of rock.”
