Turnstile, Alexandra Palace, London review • DIY Magazine

When Turnstile last played an indoor London headline show - a packed-to-the-rafters turn at Camden’s Roundhouse back in 2022 - the main sentiment that flowed through the crowd that night was that this was a band destined to make the leap to arenas, pushing the hardcore genre towards spaces it’s rarely traditionally destined for. So the fact that tonight, the Baltimore quintet have long sold out London’s epic Alexandra Palace, comes as little surprise really. Even en route into the venue, hopefuls loiter by its entrance, chancing their luck at getting a last minute ticket in a display that shows even this 10,000+ capacity space isn’t quite big enough for their appeal.

Granted, it’s not their first appearance in the capital since the release of their huge fourth album ‘NEVER ENOUGH’. But while the band filled out Victoria Park for this summer’s inaugural London leg of Outbreak Festival (as part of new event LIDO), it’s tonight’s Ally Pally show that really comes with a sense of occasion.

While the temperature outside may feel Baltic (with the capital alight with fireworks, thanks to the show landing on Bonfire Night), inside the cavernous hall, the air is thick with warmth, thanks in no small part to the hefty crowd gathered for openers High Vis and The Garden. By the time that tonight’s headliners take to the stage, though, the room feels so packed that it’s hard to even glimpse the figures of the band against the stage’s deep blue backdrop, but a roar still goes up as the dreamy soundscape of their latest album’s title track floats into commanding life.

From then on - as soon as their iconic rainbow backdrop blooms behind them for a ferocious round of ‘T.L.C. (Turnstile Love Connection)’ - the intensity barely drops, the band swooping and diving through tracks from across their impressive discography with the kind of precision that only comes from hundreds of hours of live shows. Their pace is exhilarating, feeling to barely let up across their hour or so on stage, while their musicianship is faultless; drummer Daniel Fang, especially, cuts a striking shadow across the venue’s epic ceiling that’s at times entirely mesmerising.

Additional creative touches come in crossover moments from their recent visual accompaniment to ‘NEVER ENOUGH’; their trusty rotary phone has found a place on the front row for the punishing ‘DULL’, while frontman Brendan Yates darts with poise between the windows of light projected on stage for the epic ‘LIGHT DESIGN’. Elsewhere, the room is transformed via a glowing disco ball for the gorgeous ‘SEEIN’ STARS’, before the unforgiving riffs of ‘Holiday’ send the crowd into a frenzy once more.

While, for the most part, their show is an absolute triumph, there are still some moments that jar a touch. For a band playing in such a huge space, the lack of video screens feels like an opportunity missed, with those in the venue’s back half (or anyone smaller than 6’2”), rarely catching a glimpse of the band themselves. And although the ever-changing video backdrop of course adds to the creative spectacle of the set, that it spends most of the time focussed on the in-crowd close-ups of mosh pits begins to feel repetitive, especially when many of the crowd are struggling to see much else.

Perhaps a factor of their transition to such large stages, tonight feels like a poignant moment for the band. Caught somewhat between two worlds - that of hardcore floor shows, crowd-surfing and chaos, and the more mainstream, arena-sized venues they’re sure to be eyeing up next - their 2025 has more than proven they’re a pivotal player within music’s big leagues; where they go from here is an even more thrilling prospect.