One of the year’s more peculiar rock headlines was Nine Inch Nails and Foo Fighters essentially trading drummers, but as Trent Reznor points out, there was a lot more to the story. In an interview with Consequence, the NIN frontman broke down the timeline of events that led to Ilan Rubin’s departure from the industrial band, and Josh Freese’s return.
At the end of July, it was reported that Rubin left Nine Inch Nails to join Foo Fighters, with NIN immediately announcing the return of Josh Freese as his replacement. Freese, who previously had been a member of NIN from 2005 to 2008, was let go from Foo Fighters earlier this year after joining Dave Grohl’s band in 2023.
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In our new interview feature naming Nine Inch Nails our 2025 Live Act of the Year for their spectacular “Peel It Back” tour, Reznor told us what really went down behind the scenes, including his decision to let Rubin go from NIN prior to the band’s 2025 North American tour, even though the drummer could have stayed on for that leg before joining Foo Fighters full-time.
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“The reality of that scenario was it was a surprise to me that Ilan was joining the Foo Fighters,” said Reznor. “Ilan is a great musician and had been a solid guy during his tenure in the band, but it presented a problem in terms of we knew there was another leg of the tour that we’re going to start in February [2026]. And we could either replace him immediately [after the early summer 2025 European leg] or we could replace him after the [late summer 2025 North American] leg, which would mean trying to find someone over the holiday break.”
The NIN mastermind continued, “As soon as I heard the news, I thought I could call Josh and he could play the show tonight, ’cause there’s no doubt about his ability. And that’s essentially in a shorthand what went down. He was available and willing, and it just made sense on a number of levels. Being completely honest, we’re adults and we’re professional, but we’re also people with emotional feelings and a sense of camaraderie and intent and purpose. I thought it would feel better to play that last wave of tours with someone that wants to be there, and that’s what went down.”
Meanwhile, Freese, in a recent interview with Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation, clarified that the whole “drummer swap thing” was purely coincidental.
“As far as the drummer swap thing, it’s funny because it’s just coincidence the way it worked out,” explained Freese. “It’s not like there was a purposeful drum swap. And, actually, if Ilan, who was playing with Nine Inch Nails, who joined the band after I left in 2009, if he left Nine Inch Nails to go join — pick a band — Muse, I don’t know, Trent would’ve called me. It’s not like it was an intentional swap. It’s like when Trent needed a drummer, when Ilan split, he was, like, ‘Well, I’m gonna call Freese.’ And he called me and I was, like, ‘Hell yeah.’”
As Reznor mentioned, Nine Inch Nails have another North American leg of the “Peel It Back” tour scheduled for early 2026, with tickets available here.
Meanwhile, Rubin will hit the road with Foo Fighters for a summer North American stadium run featuring support from Queens of the Stone Age. Tickets to that outing are available here.
Read our full interview with Trent Reznor, along with his NIN bandmate Atticus Ross and “Peel It Back” creative director Todd Tourso.
