Sam Rivers, bass player for Limp Bizkit, died on Saturday, according to a post on social media by his bandmates.
The band did not reveal the place of Rivers’ death or the circumstances, but praised him as “pure magic” and “soul in the sound.”
“From the first note we played together, Sam brought a light and rhythm that can never be replaced,” they wrote in a group post on Instagram. “His talent was effortless, his presence unforgettable, and his heart enormous.”
Fred Durst, the band’s lead singer, posted a video on Sunday morning in which he recounted how they met at a club in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, and how they reached musical stardom and performing around the world. Durst said he has shed “gallons and gallons of tears since yesterday.”
“He has already had an impact on the world and it is his music and talent that will continue to give,” Durst said. “I just love him so much.”
Rivers, 48, spoke about excessive drinking, which caused liver disease. He left the band in 2015 and underwent a liver transplant before reuniting with Limp Bizkit three years later.
Limp Bizkit has scheduled a tour of Central and South America to begin in Mexico City in late November.
Durst said he and Rivers shared a love of grunge music, and named bands Mother Love Bone, Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots.
“He had this kind of ability to bring out this beautiful sadness out of the bass that I’d never heard before,” Durst said, describing Rivers as “so talented I can’t explain it.”
Limp Bizkit, with roots in Jacksonville, Florida, emerged in the late 1990s with a sound that blended alternative rock, heavy metal and rap.
Their off-beat sense of humor is reflected in the titles of their 2000 best-selling album, “Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water,” and in last month’s single, “Making Love to Morgan Wallen.”
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