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Sam Rivers, the bassist and backing vocalist of the US nu-metal group Limp Bizkit, has died at the age of 48, the band has said.
Limp Bizkit announced the death in a social media post, describing Rivers as the band’s “heartbeat” but not disclosing where Rivers died or the circumstances. “Today we lost our brother. Our bandmate. Our heartbeat,” the band wrote.
“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.
“From the first note we ever played together, Sam brought a light and a rhythm that could never be replaced. His talent was effortless, his presence unforgettable, his heart enormous.”
Fred Durst, the band’s frontman and lead vocalist, posted a video Sunday morning that recounted how they met at a club in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, and went on to music stardom and performances around the globe. Durst said he has shed “gallons and gallons of tears since yesterday”.
“He really did have an impact on the world and his music and his gift is the one that’s going to keep on giving,” Durst said. “I just love him so much.”
The cause of Rivers’ death was not revealed.
Rivers, 48, had spoken of heavy drinking that had caused liver disease. He left the band in 2015 and received a liver transplant before reuniting with Limp Bizkit three years later.
Durst said he and Rivers shared a love of grunge music, naming the bands Mother Love Bone, Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots.
“He had this kind of ability to pull this beautiful sadness out of the bass that I’d never heard,” Durst said, calling Rivers “so talented I can’t explain.”
Limp Bizkit formed in Jacksonville in 1994 and rose to fame in the late 1990s with their eclectic and heavy sound that blended metal, hip-hop and punk influences.
They achieved mainstream success with their albums Significant Other (1999) and Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water (2000), which topped the charts in the US.
Their off-the-wall sense of humor is reflected in the titles of their mega-selling 2000 album, “Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water,” and a single released last month, “Making Love to Morgan Wallen.”
Rivers was one of the founding members of the band, along with vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland and turntablist DJ Lethal.
“Rest easy, brother. Your music never ends,” they said in the Instagram post.
DJ Lethal added in a comment below the band’s post: “We are in shock. Rest in power my brother! You will live on through your music and the lives you helped save with your music , charity work and friendships. We are heartbroken 💔 enjoy every millisecond of life. It’s not guaranteed.”
Limp Bizkit has scheduled a tour of Central and South America to begin in Mexico City in late November.
