NINE INCH NAILS has tapped LOSTPROPHETS' Ilan Rubin to handle the drum duties for the group on the road beginning in early 2009. Drummer Josh Freese will exit NIN's current lineup at the end of its current North American tour.

Writing on the NINE INCH NAILS web site, the group's mainman Trent Reznor said regarding the band's latest addition, "I had the chance to see Ilan playing his ass off at Reading and Leeds [festivals in the UK] a couple summers ago and he blew me away. We recently invited him out to rehearse with us and he blew US away — the perfect guy to pick up the sticks after Josh leaves us at the end of the year."

Freese has played with NINE INCH NAILS for the last three years, joining the lineup in late 2005.

Ilan Rubin, 20, began playing drums at the age of 8, when he discovered his father's 1968 Silver Sparkle Ludwig drum kit set up in the garage. He has reportedly taken lessons from BLINK-182's Travis Barker and David Uosikkinen, drummer of famed '80s band THE HOOTERS. He is also an accomplished guitarist and classical pianist.