Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor has set the record straight about what happened behind the scenes in hiring Josh Freese after longtime drummer Ilan Rubin joined Foo Fighters.
Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor has revealed what exactly went down with the infamous trading of drummers earlier this year.
In one of the more peculiar headlines of 2025, Foo Fighters would announce that it had fired legendary session drummer Josh Freese, who took up the sticks following the passing of drummer Taylor Hawkins. Freese would say he was given no reason and was more “disappointed” than anything else about the decision.
Shortly afterwards, the Foo Fighters announced that Nine Inch Nails drummer Ilan Rubin would replace Freese, joining the band for its ongoing tour. On the very same day, Nine Inch Nails announced it would be rehiring Josh Freese, who had already been a member of the band in the past. Funnily enough, it would be Rubin who would take his spot in 2008.
While speculation swirled that this was a deliberate move by NIN, Reznor shared in a new interview with Consequence that there was more to the story.
“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 industrial rock frontman 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 who wants to be there, and that’s what went down.”
Freese would also give an update on his feelings regarding his departure from Foo Fighters in a recent interview with Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation, also confirming the “drummer swap” narrative was a complete coincidence.
“As far as the drummer swap thing, it’s funny because it’s just [a] 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.’”
Nine Inch Nails is set to embark on a new North American leg of their Peel It Back tour in February, and will be performing at Coachella as “Nine Inch Noize”, a collaborative set between Nine Inch Nails and electronic musician Boys Noize.
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