Three years is a long time between albums for any band. For Foo Fighters, those three years included losing a founding drummer, hiring two replacements, a public personal crisis for Dave Grohl, and a lineup in flux that would have quietly ended lesser acts. Your Favorite Toy, arriving April 24 via Roswell Records and RCA Records, arrives as the band’s answer to all of it — loud, fast, and deliberately uninterested in sentiment.

The Album and What It Sounds Like

Your Favorite Toy is the twelfth studio album by Foo Fighters and runs just 36:26 — the band’s shortest record, clocking in nine seconds under Medicine at Midnight. Ten tracks, no filler. Early descriptions point to a high-energy return to the uptempo rock sound of the band’s earlier catalog, leaning into melodic alternative rock while pushing tempos harder than anything they’ve released in years.

Opener “Caught in the Echo” arrives with a blistering riff and Grohl shouting “Do I? Do I? Do I? Do I?” — described by reviewers as the band’s liveliest leadoff since “Bridge Burning” on 2011’s Wasting Light. “Of All People” follows with Grohl grappling with a past figure who improbably survived while others didn’t. The title track takes a deliberately different turn — fuzzed-out vocals, a sinister pulse — before landing on a chorus built for stadiums.

“Window” locks into a riff and groove that sounds close and immediate, then breaks into an alt-rock chorus. “Unconditional” runs like a proper ’90s indie-rock banger, locked in by Ilan Rubin’s clockwork beat. Album closer “Asking for a Friend” — released as a single in late 2025 — earns its stadium-sized close with a slow-building riff and panoramic chorus that reaches a thumping, fast crescendo.

Grohl described how the title track unlocked the rest of the record: “‘Your Favorite Toy’ really was the key that unlocked the tone and energetic direction of the new album. We stumbled upon it after experimenting with different sounds and dynamics for over a year, and the day it took shape I knew that we had to follow its lead.”

The Recording and the New Producer Pairing

The album was recorded at Grohl’s home studio and at the band’s Studio 606 facility in Los Angeles. It was co-produced by Foo Fighters and engineer Oliver Roman — marking the first Foo Fighters album not co-produced by Greg Kurstin since Sonic Highways in 2014, a significant production shift for the band after nearly a decade. Mixed by Mark “Spike” Stent.

Grohl and new drummer Ilan Rubin recorded the rhythm tracks live together without a click track. The rest of the band then overdubbed their parts on top of that live foundation — a recording approach that gives the album its locked-in, in-the-room quality.

The Drummer Situation, Explained

The lineup behind Your Favorite Toy is the one that matters most for understanding the album’s context. When Taylor Hawkins died in March 2022, Grohl handled the drum parts himself on 2023’s But Here We Are. Foo Fighters then brought in Josh Freese, who toured with the band through 2024 before the band parted ways with him in May 2025.

In July 2025, Ilan Rubin — who had been with Nine Inch Nails since 2009 — joined Foo Fighters. His departure created an odd parallel: Freese, who had previously played with NIN from 2005 to 2008, returned to that band to fill the slot Rubin left behind. The result was effectively a drummer swap between two of rock’s enduring institutions, though Rubin pushed back on that framing in public comments.

In an interview with the Go with Elmo Lovano podcast, Rubin clarified the timeline: “Everyone knew what my commitments were, and I’m a very, very loyal guy and I do what I say I’m gonna do. So it just happened to work out better — and it worked out great for me.” He added that the situation was shaped by coincidental timing rather than any sudden departure from NIN.

On the record, Rubin makes a confident first impression. “If You Only Knew” showcases the tempo-shifting Foo Fighters feel that long-time fans expect, with Rubin’s drumming drawing specific notice from early reviewers. His NIN pedigree — precision, power, dynamic range — transfers cleanly into the Foo Fighters’ more muscular rock context.

The Take Cover Tour

The album arrives with a stadium tour already scheduled and support locked.

The “Take Cover” North American leg opens August 4 in Toronto at Rogers Stadium and closes September 26 in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium. Confirmed stops include Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Nashville, Washington D.C., Fargo, Regina, Edmonton, and Vancouver. Queens of the Stone Age are direct support on all North American dates except Fargo.

The pairing of Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age carries real history behind it. In 1992, Grohl saw Homme’s earlier band Kyuss play in Seattle and the friendship began there. They have since collaborated on albums, shared stages, and co-formed Them Crooked Vultures alongside John Paul Jones. Grohl described the tour as sharing a new chapter with “my dear friend, Josh” — a bond that runs well beyond any single project.

The Take Cover tour launched in January 2026 in Mexico before a European leg in spring and summer. The North American stadium run is the centerpiece. The tour runs through early 2027, with Australian and New Zealand dates following the U.S. dates into November and January.

Your Favorite Toy is available Friday, April 24 on all streaming platforms and in physical formats via Roswell Records and RCA Records.