Back in February, Nine Inch Nails announced that they were finally back, ending the four-year hiatus that came about with the band’s 2009 “Wave Goodbye” tour.

Though drummer Ilan Rubin and former keyboard/synth player Alessandro Cortini returned to the group, significant changes were made to the lineup: guitarist Adrian Belew, keyboard/synth player Josh Eustis and bassist Eric Avery were added to the lineup.

The latter, who was the original bassist for Jane’s Addiction and occasionally joined NIN onstage in 2009, has just announced that he will, unfortunately, drop out of the band’s comeback tour.

In a Facebook post earlier this Wednesday, Eric Avery described his decision to leave the group, citing as a reason the increasing number of tour dates, and the fact that he just came out of a world tour with Garbage.

Though it remains to be seen who will replace Avery, there are a few names we can think of – former members Justin Meldal-Johnsen and Danny Lohner come to mind right away. Those who have seen Trent Reznor’s How to Destroy Angels live can attest to the fact that Alessandro Cortini is a skillfull bass player as well.

Keep in mind that NIN may release a new song next month.