NEED TO KNOW
Josh Freese joined the Foo Fighters in 2023 to take over for the late drummer Taylor Hawkins
In May 2025, Freese and the band announced that they were parting ways
On Wednesday, July 30, it was reported that Nine Inch Nails drummer Ilan Rubin would replace Freese
The Foo Fighters have tapped drummer Ilan Rubin to take over for Josh Freese.
The former Nine Inch Nails drummer’s new job was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter and later Variety on Wednesday, July 30. He is taking over for Freese, whose new job will be drumming for NIN.
The Foo Fighters and Freese announced in May that they were parting ways, two years after he took over for the late Taylor Hawkins. Hawkins died in 2022, at age 50.
While Rubin will be departing Nine Inch Nails, Freese will return to Nine Inch Nails and tour for their upcoming Peel It Back Tour. The band posted a photo of Freese to its Instagram Story, seemingly confirming the news with a caption that read, “let’s f—ing go.”
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Lloyd Bishop/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
Ilan Rubin on February 6, 2020
Freese, 52, confirmed he was no longer drumming for the Foo Fighters in May, explaining that the band had decided “to go in a different direction with their drummer.”
Freese previously performed with the Trent Reznor-fronted Nine Inch Nails from 2005 to 2008.
“Leaving Nine Inch Nails at the end of 2008 was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make,” Freese wrote on Instagram Wednesday. “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.”
Freese and his wife, Nicole, share four children: Hunter, 24, August, 18, Olive, 16, and Lu Lu, 14.
“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,” he continued. “To be part of that energy again feels amazing.”
Nine Inch Nails/Instagram
Nine Inch Nails’ Instagram post of Josh Freese on July 30, 2025
Rubin served as Nine Inch Nails’ tour drummer for 16 years. At 32, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the band in 2020, making him the youngest-ever inductee at the time. He has also worked with Angels & Airwaves, Paramore and Danny Elfman.
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It has not been confirmed whether Rubin will serve only as a touring drummer or full-time member of Nine In Nails. A source told The Hollywood Reporter that Rubin told Reznor he took a job with another band and would not be joining the North American leg of their Peel It Back Tour, which begins on Wednesday, Aug. 6 in Oakland, Calif.
Meanwhile, Rubin will hit the road with the Foo Fighters for their first shows in 2025, beginning in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday, Oct. 2. They will also stop in Singapore, Tokyo, Osaka and then in Mexico City for the Corona Capital festival.
PEOPLE has reached out to the Foo Fighters’ rep for comment.
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