Who is Guns N’ Roses’ new drummer Isaac Carpenter?
Guns just announced Carpenter as the newest addition to the band today (March 20) following yesterday’s news that they’d parted ways with longtime drummer Frank Ferrer after 19 years. They described the split as “amicable” and wished him the best in his future endeavors.
Considering GN’R’s 2025 touring kicks off in just over a month, it’s no surprise that they already had another drummer lined up to take Ferrer’s place. We compiled a list yesterday of seven drummers that seemed to be possible contenders for the job, and we had Carpenter on it.
Keep reading to learn a bit more about Carpenter and his ties to the band.
Who Is Isaac Carpenter?
Carpenter was born in Tri-Cities, Washington in 1979. Turns out, he’s been a Guns N’ Roses superfan for most of his life. While in high school, he was in a Guns N’ Roses cover band called .22s and Tulips.
“When I heard Appetite For Destruction and the ‘F’ word in the second grade, it was the biggest, most life changing event for me. I got an awesome mullet and bought every copy of Metal Edge I could get my hands on,” Carpenter told Hip Online.
Eventually, that band morphed into Loudermilk, and they released their debut album in 1998. They signed to American Recordings, went on tour with Motley Crue and Megadeth, and were dropped from the label before signing with DreamWorks in 2002.
Carpenter’s Ties to Guns N’ Roses Members
Two years after signing with DreamWorks, Loudermilk endured a bit of a musical evolution and changed their name to Gosling, who eventually toured with Duff McKagan, Slash and Matt Sorum’s post-Guns N’ Roses band, Velvet Revolver.
See the connections yet?
It’s unclear exactly when McKagan discovered Loudermilk and Carpenter, but he was apparently a fan even before they became Gosling.
READ MORE: The 10 Biggest Rock + Metal Bands With the Most Lineup Changes
“In my opinion, every song on this record is special and different, and trying to describe Loudermilk would just sound dumb, pale and hollow when set against this majestic body of musical work,” McKagan wrote in a Seattle Weekly column in 2010.
Isaac Carpenter Drum Solo With Loudermilk
Carpenter also played with The Exies before McKagan asked him to join his band Loaded in ’09. They toured with Black Stone Cherry that year, and then released the record The Taking in 2011.
Since then, the drummer has also played in Adam Lambert’s touring band, AWOLNATION and a few others.
Now, he’s in Guns N’ Roses. See a video of Loaded performing a cover of Nirvana’s “Lithium” at Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture in 2011 below.
Loaded, ‘Lithium’ (Nirvana Cover)
Guns N’ Roses’ 2025 tour kicks off May 1 in Incheon, South Korea. See all of the band’s 2025 tour dates on their website.
Welcome to the jungle, Isaac.
All 24 Musicians Who’ve Been in Guns N’ Roses
Guns N’ Roses have had over 20 musicians in the band since they formed in 1985, so we compiled a list of al of them below.
Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner
