Big news out of the hard rockin’ Queens of the Stone Age camp today, as it was confirmed that Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) has been laying down drum tracks for a new QOTSA album, presently due for an early 2013 release.

As reported by Antiquiet, QOTSA frontman Josh Homme announced that the band’s drummer Joey Castillo had departed the band on Zane Lowe’s BBC Radio 1 show. The band also posted a photo on their Facebook page showing a recording console with “Dave Drums” written above one of the channels.

The as-yet-unnamed new album will be the band’s first since 2007 release Era Vulgaris. Grohl has a long history with Homme and company, playing drums on Songs For the Deaf, the breakout 2002 release that was recently certified platinum (more than one million copies sold).

Queens of the Stone Age are scheduled to appear at the 2013 Download Festival in England in June for the first time, alongside such acts as Iron Maiden, Motorhead and Rammstein.

–Scott T. Sterling, CBS Local