Limp Bizkit have paid tribute to founding bassist Sam Rivers, who has died aged 48.

Sharing the information in a poignant tribute on social media, the band write: “At present we misplaced our brother. Our bandmate. Our heartbeat.

“Sam Rivers wasn’t simply our bass participant – he was pure magic. The heart beat beneath each tune, the calm within the chaos, the soul within the sound. From the primary word we ever performed collectively, Sam introduced a light-weight and a rhythm that might by no means get replaced. His expertise was easy, his presence unforgettable, his coronary heart monumental.

We shared so many moments – wild ones, quiet ones, lovely ones – and each one in all them meant extra as a result of Sam was there.

He was a once-in-a-lifetime form of human. A real legend of legends. And his spirit will dwell endlessly in each groove, each stage, each reminiscence.

We love you, Sam. We’ll carry you with us, all the time. Relaxation simple, brother. Your music by no means ends. Fred, Wes, John & DJ Deadly.”

Sam Rivers’ reason for demise has not been disclosed on the time of writing.

Rivers was born in 1977 in Jacksonville, Florida, the place he later based soon-to-be nu steel titans Limp Bizkit in 1994, alongside frontman Fred Durst.

He performed on all the band’s six studio albums: Three Greenback Invoice, Y’all$ (1997), Vital Different (1999), Chocolate Starfish and the Scorching Canine Flavored Water (2000), Outcomes Could Differ (2003), Gold Cobra (2011), and Nonetheless Sucks (2021).

He took a quick time period out from the band between 2015 and 2018 whereas he fought liver illness ensuing from persistent alcohol abuse.

Chatting with writer Jon Wiederhorn for his e book Elevating Hell in 2020, Rivers revealed the extent of his alcoholism: “The physician stated, ‘In case you don’t cease, you’re going to die.’ I had actually unhealthy liver illness. I give up ingesting and did all the things the docs advised me. I fought liver illness for a few years and it received. I needed to get a liver transplant in 2017.”

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Sam is the Affiliate Information Editor for Guitar.com and MusicTech. Totally immersed in music tradition for almost all of his life, Sam has performed guitar for 20 years, studied music expertise and manufacturing at college, and likewise written for the likes of Guitar World, Whole Guitar, Metallic Hammer and MusicRadar.