DAVE GROHL Praises New FOO FIGHTERS Drummer ILAN RUBIN: 'His Capabilities Are Off The F***ing Charts'

In a new interview with Thomas Michiels of Studio Brussel, FOO FIGHTERS frontman Dave Grohl spoke about the band's new drummer Ilan Rubin, who joined the FOO FIGHTERS last year as the replacement for Josh Freese. Grohl said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, it's funny. So [Ilan] was with NINE INCH NAILS for 17 years or something [before he joined the FOO FIGHTERS]. And with NINE INCH NAILS, their music, it requires this very sort of pattern-specific grooves and rhythms, and the drumming, it has to be very linked up, and click track and everything like that. And it just has to be mechanical. So when he joined our band, it was the first time that he hadn't played live with a click track in 17 years. And so he starts playing with us, and he still had this mindset that it has to be sort of patterned and sound like the record. And I'm a drummer too. And he would do something and I'd go, 'Ilan, keep doing that.' And he's, like, 'Are you sure?' I'm, like, 'Fuck yes. Go crazy. Just go fucking crazy.' And you could see — he's fucking started spreading his wings. And now it's, like — he's such a phenomenal drummer. His capabilities are off the fucking charts. And he'll do drum solos sometimes during shows, and I'm just laughing, like, 'How the fuck did you just do that?' It's unbelievable. So, yeah, he has this new sort of liberation and freedom with us that he's just shining. He's incredible."

FOO FIGHTERS announced Rubin as their new drummer in July 2025.

Rubin was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame with NINE INCH NAILS in 2020.

Rubin played with NINE INCH NAILS from 2008 to 2009, and again from 2013 until his latest exit. Rubin is also a member of Tom DeLonge's band ANGELS & AIRWAVES, and has played with Danny Elfman. He also recorded solo albums under the name THE NEW REGIME.

Ilan made his live debut with the FOO FIGHTERS on September 14, 2025 at the Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo, California.

Freese was with the FOO FIGHTERS from 2023 until May 2025. Before Freese's time with the band, Taylor Hawkins served as the drummer for the FOO FIGHTERS from 1997 until his death in 2022 at 50.

In a recent interview with the Go With Elmo podcast, Rubin stated about how he landed the gig as the new drummer of the FOO FIGHTERS: "Well, at some point in time I got a call from Dave. We talked about some stuff. He knew that my touring commitments [with NINE INCH NAILS] at the time were coming to an end, and I was available after that. I know that's a bit of a vague way of putting it, but there's some delicacy here. 'Cause I went from a band I'd played with for almost 17 years. So that was an end of a lengthy, extensive era for me. And this new chapter has been incredible — still very new, obviously. I don't even know how long it's been — maybe six, seven months, give or take. I have no idea. But it's been incredible — the most outgoing, inviting people and organization. Kind of just feeling like everything fits like a glove is great, especially after having played with so many bands for such a long time. I'm not saying that those weren't great in their own right, but I'm very much a creature of habit. So I like to stay where I am. Even though my career kind of unexpectedly turned into this thing where I've played with multiple bands, that was never my intention — ever. But I stay where I go. And going into a whole new world can be very daunting, but it's just been so welcoming that I couldn't be happier. Everything's awesome. So much fun. Everything is fun, which is great. The smiles are real, and I can't get enough of it. I don't know how many shows we've played up to this point, but it's still super fresh. Very exciting. And it's a great place to be and a great group of people."

Asked if he already knew Dave prior to getting a call from him, Ilan said: "We had met a few times over the years, but it's not like we were 'buddy buddy' texting all the time. [He had seen me play with the NINE INCH NAILS] probably a couple of times over the years, probably going back to, like — I don't know — if I had to say, maybe 2017 or so. But there would be years in between of seeing one another again.

"I haven't really talked about this whole sort of chapter, so this is a new thing," Ilan continued. "Not that I have anything to hide here, but it was just kind of, like, 'Hey, you probably didn't expect to hear from me, but there's some stuff going on, and I see that your last date is' — whenever it was; time is a giant blur, regardless of bands and touring. I have two kids, and I don't know what day it is today. But that's how it started."

Reflecting on his early rehearsal sessions with the FOO FIGHTERS, Ilan said: "For those who are somewhat familiar with the story or with the band, or this chapter with the band, at some point there were some auditions. And very understandable considering that it's such a massive band, but things didn't work out perhaps the way everyone had hoped over the last couple of years. So they really wanted to make sure that whoever kind of came in was — I don't know— vetted as best as possible. Make sure you check everything else out before you make your choice. These are assumptions here. But, yeah, so I played a second time, and then I was invited. But it was a great time. I mean, sitting down, playing songs. And like I said, very inviting group of people. And the songs are obviously incredibly fun to play."

Ilan continued: "I like to be prepared. So I'm a bit of a perfectionist in that way. And when I got the batch of songs that they wanted to play, I really did my research, because, obviously, the band's been around for so long. A lot of these songs have gone through different iterations over the years. And as somebody who's toured a lot with various bands, I know that things can change from tour to tour. So I really did my research as to what they had been doing for the last couple of years and just showed up as if it was ready to be night one of a tour. And we just played smoothly, and that was that."

Photo credit: Elizabeth Miranda