Ilan Rubin

Instruments:Drums, Percussion, Keyboards, Cello, Guitar, Bass, Backing Vocals

Active:2009-

Tours:Wave Goodbye-present

Ilan Rubin (born July 7, 1988) is the current drummer for Nine Inch Nails, replacing former drummer Josh Freese. On November 7, 2020, Rubin and NIN were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

Biography

Rubin began playing drums at the age of 8 upon finding his father's old drum kit in the family's garage and within three months had taught himself to play. At the age of 9, he began playing alongside his brothers and soon joined the band F.o.N., who played at three stints of the Vans Warped Tour. Rubin became a fill-in drummer for NOFX on one of those tours. By 1999, Rubin would join F.o.N. at Woodstock '99, earning him the honor of being the youngest person to ever play at a Woodstock festival, at the age of 11.

That same year, Rubin submitted a video of himself playing a drum solo to Modern Drummer's "Best Undiscovered Drummer" contest, winning the title in the under-18 category. He was only 12 when he earned the title. Rubin has taken lessons from Travis Barker and David Uosikken. In addition to drums, Rubin is a guitarist and pianist.

Shortly after F.o.N. disbanded, Rubin joined Denver Harbor along with his older brother and two members of the band Fenix*TX. The band released one album on 2004 before being dropped from their label.

Rubin joined the Welsh band Lostprophets in 2005 after original drummer Mike Chiplin left the band. Lostprophets was working in the studio with Josh Freese before Rubin was hired and ultimately finished the drumming for their album Liberation Transmission. He also began touring with the band then.

At either Leeds or Reading Festival 2007, a friend of Rubin's recommended that Nine Inch Nails founder Trent Reznor watch the teenaged Rubin perform with Lostprophets, and he was impressed with what he saw. In 2008, when Freese announced his departure from NIN, Reznor sent an email to Rubin, inviting him to audition. Rubin learned a couple songs, flew to the soundcheck of one of the Lights in the Sky shows, and secured the job.[1] On November 14, 2008, Rubin was announced as the new drummer, taking over for Freese in 2009. Rubin is the youngest person to ever join NIN, at the age of 20.

In addition to assuming the drummer position in Nine Inch Nails, Rubin also had a solo project, The New Regime, which he started when he was in Lostprophets. He continued to work on and tour with The New Regime while being in Nine Inch Nails. In March 2020, The New Regime released its fifth studio album, the first on a non-independent label. There was supposed to be a lot of label support and touring for it, but the world shut down right after the album release due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After it became clear that the impact of the pandemic would be years instead of weeks or months, Rubin decided to close the chapter on The New Regime. He now releases solo material under his own artist name, Ilan Rubin.

In 2011, Rubin joined Angels & Airwaves, an American rock band, replacing drummer Atom Willard. He has continued to write songs and tour with the band.

In 2012, Rubin did session drumming for Paramore on their self-titled album, produced by Justin Meldal-Johnson. He also toured with Paramore for the promotion of that album.

As the de facto permanent drummer, Rubin has returned to play drums and other instruments on tour each time Nine Inch Nails has come off hiatus in 2013, 2017, 2022, and 2025.

Body Of Work

2003

• Extended Play, Denver Harbor

2004

• Scenic, Denver Harbor

2006

• Liberation Transmission, Lostprophets

2008

• Coup, The New Regime

2011

• Speak Through The White Noise, The New Regime

2013

• Exhibit A EP, The New Regime
• Hesitation Marks, Nine Inch Nails

2015

• Exhibit B, The New Regime

2020

• Heart Mind Body & Soul, The New Regime

External Links

• Official site
• IlanRubin on Twitter
• Ilan Rubin on YouTube
• The New Regime official site