It’s been nearly a year since Josh Freese was let go from the Foo Fighters, after only playing with the band for roughly two years. The legendary drummer has spoken about the situation a handful of times, but now Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has opened up, saying the decision “didn’t happen overnight.”
In a February 19, 2026, interview with Apple Music 1’s The Zane Lowe Show, Grohl explained that the choice to let Freese go first came up during the band’s touring break in 2024. “In those six or seven months, as a band, we talked about what to do next, a new direction, and thought, ‘Okay, let’s call Josh and let him know that we are going to move on with a different drummer,’” Grohl said, via NME.
“We called, as a band, all of us called, it wasn’t just me,” he went on to recall. “Basically, we called Josh and were, like, ‘Hey, man, that was awesome. That was such a blast, thank you so much, but we are going to move on and find another drummer.’”
“Since then, there’s been a lot of talk about it,” Grohl added, “but I think Josh said it best when he said that he didn’t feel our music really resonated with him, and that’s really important.” Grohl’s comment here seems to be related to a 2025 interview Freese gave, where he said, “It wasn’t music that I really resonated with.”
Josh Freese has since gone on to rejoin Nine Inch Nails, with whom he originally played from 2005 to 2008
After leaving the Foo Fighters, Freese rejoined Nine Inch Nails. He first played with the industrial band in 2005 but left in 2008.
“Leaving Nine Inch Nails at the end of 2008 was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. 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 wrote in a 2025 Instagram post, revealing his new gig.
“Nine Inch Nails was a band that left me walking off stage every single night thinking, ‘That was incredible. We absolutely crushed it.’ … That level of intensity, pride, and satisfaction after each show is something I’ve rarely experienced anywhere,” he added.
“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,” Freese went on to say. “To be part of that energy again feels amazing. If you get a chance to catch one of these shows over the next six weeks, I promise, they’re going to be absolutely unforgettable.”
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