Sam Rivers, bassist and founding member of the metal band Limp Bizkit, died on Saturday, the band introduced in a social media publish. No reason behind dying was acknowledged, though he had a historical past of alcohol-related liver illness; he was 48.
“At the moment we misplaced our brother. Our bandmate. Our heartbeat,” the band wrote. “Sam Rivers wasn’t simply our bass participant — he was pure magic. The heart beat beneath each track, the calm within the chaos, the soul within the sound.”
Born in Jacksonville, Fla. In 1977, Rivers first started enjoying music in center faculty, starting with tuba as a result of his buddy, future Limp Bizkit drummer John Otto, performed jazz drums. Whereas Rivers and Otto are sometimes mentioned to be cousins, the pair had initially thought they have been associated, however turned out to not be.
Rivers later switched to bass and guitar, and have become mates with future Limp Bizkit singer/rapper Fred Durst. The pair shaped a short-lived band referred to as Malachi Sage, however quickly regrouped with Otto to kind Limp Bizkit in 1994, uniting with madcap guitarist Wes Borland (who would go away and rejoin the band a number of occasions) and later, former Home of Ache member DJ Deadly.
The band was aligned with the fast-rising “nu-metal” motion and, after a present in Los Angeles opening for Korn, have been signed by Flip Information, whose founder, Jordan Schur, later struck a distribution deal with Interscope for the band’s debut album. That album, “Three Greenback Invoice Y’all” was launched in 1997, and the band toured extensively with the Deftones, Helmet, and on the Warped tour. The quickly constructing buzz culminated with their 1999 follow-up, “Important Different,” pushed by the only “Nookie” and a half-serious steel cowl of George Michael’s hit “Religion.”
The album rocketed to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and Limp Bizkit rapidly turned one of many largest rock bands within the nation. Nevertheless, their set on the disastrous 1999 Woodstock competition was marred by violence; many blamed Durst for the uproar, as he crowdsurfed on plywood that rioters had torn off of competition fixtures after which shouted “It wasn’t our fault” as he left the stage, though opinions differ. The violence resulted in three deaths, dozens of accidents and 44 arrests, amid a number of incidents of rape, vandalism and arson.
The band adopted with the 2000 set “Chocolate Starfish and the Sizzling Canine Flavored Water,” however Durst’s unfiltered, usually homophobic and sexist lyrics and feedback and ongoing conflicts between him and Borland resulted within the latter leaving the band in 2001. Rivers shifted over to guitar for the band’s 2003 album “Outcomes Could Differ,” however Borland rejoined the next 12 months.
Limp Bizkit went on hiatus in 2006 and Rivers labored as a producer with Jacksonville bands Burn Season and the Embraced, a task he would proceed after the band reunited in 2009. Limp Bizkit continued to tour and launch albums sporadically over the next years, though Rivers left in 2015 for well being causes that he later revealed have been liver illnesses attributable to alcohol abuse.
“I acquired liver illness from extreme ingesting … I needed to go away Limp Bizkit in 2015 as a result of I felt so horrible, and some months after that I spotted I needed to change every part as a result of I had actually unhealthy liver illness,” Rivers informed author Jon Wiederhorn. “I stop ingesting and did every part the medical doctors informed me. I acquired therapy for the alcohol and acquired a liver transplant, which was an ideal match.”
He rejoined in 2018 and remained till his dying.
“He was a once-in-a-lifetime sort of human. A real legend of legends,” the band concluded in its publish on Saturday. “And his spirit will reside perpetually in each groove, each stage, each reminiscence,” the band continued. “We love you, Sam. We’ll carry you with us, at all times. Relaxation straightforward, brother. Your music by no means ends.”
