Two months after parting ways with Josh Freese, Foo Fighters have unveiled Ilan Rubin as their new drummer, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. Rubin is jumping ship after a 16-year stint with Nine Inch Nails, for whom the prospect of an imminent, drummerless tour ran into a convenient solution: They hired Josh Freese. It is unclear whether Rubin is permanently aboard with Foo Fighters or just a touring member.
Though Foo Fighters are yet to acknowledge formally their hire, Nine Inch Nails posted an Instagram story picturing Freese—who was also their drummer between 2005 and 2008—with the caption, “Let’s fucking go.” They kick off a North American tour at Oakland Arena on August 6; Foo Fighters’ next dates are a tour of Asia in October.
Rubin had been touring with Nine Inch Nails since 2009, a tenure that encompassed the band’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2020, in which he was included. He has also drummed for Paramore, Angels & Airwaves, and Danny Elfman, among others. According to a Hollywood Reporter source, Rubin had committed to Nine Inch Nails through the year but told Trent Reznor last week that he had “accepted a job with another band.”
Foo Fighters brought in Freese in 2023 as the successor to their late, longtime drummer Taylor Hawkins. After two years together, Freese announced in May that the band had let him go, offering no reason beyond a decision “to go in a different direction with their drummer.” He added, “I’ve never been let go from a band, so while I’m not angry—just a bit shocked and disappointed. But as most of you know I’ve always worked freelance and bounced between bands so, I’m fine.”
Foo Fighters released their first track since his departure, “Today’s Song,” this month, which came with a note thanking Freese for his time with the band and saying that, without his “thunderous wizardry,” the band’s “story would be incomplete.” Their latest album, But Here We Are, came out in 2023; its predecessor, Medicine at Midnight, won the Best Rock Album Grammy one month after Hawkins’ death.
Of the drummer news, Freese wrote on Instagram:
Leaving Nine Inch Nails at the end of 2008 was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. My wife and I were expecting our third child, and I knew I needed to step away from life on the road to be home with my family.
NIN was a band that left me walking off stage every single night thinking, “That was incredible. We absolutely crushed it.” And it wasn’t just a feeling, it was a certainty. That level of intensity, pride, and satisfaction after each show is something I’ve rarely experienced anywhere else.
Now, being back on tour with Trent and the crew—helping them do what they do best night after night—is something I’m incredibly excited about. To be part of that energy again feels amazing.
If you get a chance to catch one of these shows over the next six weeks, I promise, they’re going to be absolutely unforgettable.
Hope to see you out there.
