Bass player Sam Rivers of Limp Bizkit performs onstage at The Forum on March 14, 2015 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)
Sam Rivers, bassist for the nu metal band Limp Bizkit, died Saturday, his bandmates announced on social media.
The band did not disclose where Rivers died or the circumstances, but praised him as "pure magic" and "the soul in the sound."
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What they're saying:
"From the first note we ever played together, Sam brought a light and a rhythm that could never be replaced," they wrote in a group Instagram post. "His talent was effortless, his presence unforgettable, his heart enormous."
Fred Durst, the band's front man 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."
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."
Dig deeper:
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.
What's next:
Limp Bizkit has scheduled a tour of Central and South America to begin in Mexico City in late November.
The backstory:
Limp Bizkit, with roots in Jacksonville, Florida, emerged in the late 1990s with a sound that melds altenative rock, heavy metal and rap.
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."
The Source: The information in this story comes from social media posts by Limp Bizkit and its members, including a group statement on Instagram and a video shared Sunday by frontman Fred Durst. The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story was reported from Los Angeles.