For the first time, the leader of the Foo Fighters looks back on the departure of Josh Freese, the arrival of Ilan Rubin and the behind the scenes of a decision that did not happen overnight.
Dave Grohl has opened up about Foo Fighters' split with Josh Freese for the first time, explaining that the decision to part ways with the drummer “did not happen overnight”.
Freese joined the group in May 2023, following the death of Taylor Hawkins in March 2022. In May 2025, he announced that he had been let go: the group had decided “to go in another direction for the batting position”he then wrote on Instagram, adding that“no reason had been given to him”.
In a new interview with Zane Lowe, Grohl returned to the waltz of drummers within the Foo Fighters since the death of Hawkins, providing a musician's insight. He first recalled that Nirvana had had five drummers – himself being the fifth – and that if the Foo Fighters had four, Hawkins had remained theirs for 25 of their 30 years of existence.
Then the group went on tour, “and we had a blast, we had an incredible time”he added. After about a year and a half on the road with Freese, the band took a hiatus, during which its members discussed what to do next for almost six months before deciding.
Grohl said they expressed gratitude for the two years they spent together. “We basically called Josh and said, 'Hey man, that was awesome. We really had a blast, thank you very much, but we're going to move on and find another drummer. » »
Without detailing the precise reasons for their decision, Grohl told Lowe that after this call with Freese, the group chose not to make any public communication about this separation. “After that, we didn’t make a press release, didn’t tweet, didn’t give an interview. We didn't say anything.”he declared. “There's been a lot of speculation since then, but I think Josh summed it up really well when he said our music didn't really resonate with him — and that's really important, right? »
Freese has since re-joined Nine Inch Nails, while the Foo Fighters have recruited Nine Inch Nails touring member Ilan Rubin as drummer. “It’s like we feel like a band again, man.”Grohl told Lowe about Rubin's arrival.
The Foo Fighters are preparing the release of their twelfth album, Your Favorite Toyexpected on April 24. The eponymous title was revealed last week. The group performed it during the Graham Norton Show last Friday, without Pat Smear, recovering after an improbable gardening accident which left him with a broken foot.
