Limp Bizkit founding bassist Sam Rivers has died at the age of 48.
Per Rolling Stone, the nu-metal band confirmed the news via a social media post on Sunday (local time).
“Today we lost our brother. Our bandmate. Our heartbeat,” the statement reads.
“Sam Rivers wasn’t just our bass player — he was pure magic. The pulse beneath every song, the calm in the chaos, the soul in the sound.”
View this post on InstagramLove Music?
Get your daily dose of metal, rock, indie, pop, and everything else in between.
“From the first note we ever played together, Sam brought a light and a rhythm that could never be replaced,” the statement continues.
“His talent was effortless, his presence unforgettable, his heart enormous.
“We shared so many moments — wild ones, quiet ones, beautiful ones — and every one of them meant more because Sam was there.
“He was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of human. A true legend of legends. And his spirit will live forever in every groove, every stage, every memory. We love you, Sam. We’ll carry you with us, always. Rest easy, brother. Your music never ends.”
The bassist’s journey with Limp Bizkit began in Jacksonville, Florida, where he first met frontman Fred Durst. The pair initially collaborated in the band, Malachi Sage. In 1994, Rivers and Durst regrouped with Rivers’ cousin, drummer John Otto, to form what would become Limp Bizkit. The lineup was completed when guitarist Wes Borland joined, with DJ Lethal later rounding out the group’s distinctive sound.
Rivers played on the band’s debut album, Three Dollar Bill Y’all, released in 1997, Significant Other, released in 1999, and 2000’s Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water.
Rivers left Limp Bizkit in 2015 with his final album with the group being 2011’s Gold Cobra. Per Loudwire, the musician shared in Jon Wiederhorn’s book, Raising Hell (Backstage Tales From the Lives of Metal Legends), that the decision to quit the band was due to long term effects from excessive drinking.
“I got liver disease from excessive drinking … I had to leave Limp Bizkit in 2015 because I felt so horrible, and a few months after that I realized I had to change everything because I had really bad liver disease,” Rivers said.
“I quit drinking and did everything the doctors told me. I got treatment for the alcohol and got a liver transplant, which was a perfect match.”
