Limp Bizkit stunned fans in October 2025 by announcing the death of founding member Sam Rivers at age 48.
Rivers’ Limp Bizkit bandmates Fred Durst, Wes Borland, John Otto and DJ Lethal released a joint statement on October 18, 2025, to confirm the loss of their bandmate from undisclosed causes.
“Today we lost our brother. Our bandmate. Our heartbeat,” Limp Bizkit’s statement read. “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.”
The bassist was a founding member of the rap-metal group and remained with Limp Bizkit until a serious health crisis forced him to take a three-year break in 2015. Rivers made a triumphant comeback to Limp Bizkit in 2018 and continued playing with them until his death in October 2025.
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Keep scrolling for more information on Rivers’ life and death.
How Did Sam Rivers Join Limp Bizkit?
Rivers met future Limp Bizkit frontman Durst while working at Chick-fil-A and they soon formed the short-lived band Malachi Sage. After Malachi Sage fizzled, the duo recruited drummer Otto for the first incarnation of Limp Bizkit, with lead guitarist Borland and turntablist DJ Lethal completing the classic lineup in 1996.
The bassist was only 19 years old when Limp Bizkit’s 1997 debut album, Three Dollar Bill, Y’all, was released. He ultimately played on all of the nu-metal band’s studio albums, including taking over lead guitar for 2003’s Results May Vary when Borland briefly left.
Why Did He Leave Limp Bizkit?
Rivers announced in August 2015 that he was taking a break from Limp Bizkit to deal with private health issues. He was replaced by Samuel G Mpungu.
After meeting Rivers in 2019, Mpungu revealed that the process of him replacing Rivers occurred within a 24-hour period.
“Both our lives changed drastically on the 18th August 2015,” Mpungu recalled. “Due to health issues, Sam unfortunately wasn’t able to tour any more. The very same day Sam had to leave, I received a phone call which changed my life. LB Management booked me a flight to Frankfurt, I went straight to soundcheck and played my first show with Limp Bizkit in front of 5000 people. (unrehearsed) The following 3 years I played all over the world with these amazing musicians.”
In 2020, Rivers revealed in author Jon Wiederhorn‘s book Raising Hell (Backstage Tales From the Lives of Metal Legends) that the true reason for his hiatus from Limp Bizkit was because he was diagnosed with “liver disease from excessive drinking.”
“I had to leave Limp Bizkit in 2015 because I felt so horrible, and a few months after that I realized I had to change everything because I had really bad liver disease,” Rivers explained. “I quit drinking and did everything the doctors told me. I got treatment for the alcohol and got a liver transplant, which was a perfect match.”
Rivers mentioned that he first started experiencing health problems in 2011, but he “didn’t really get what was happening back then.”
“I stopped drinking and battled the liver disease for a bit,” he said. “I got clean for about nine or ten months and went on tour. I was super clean, but my home life wasn’t that great at the time and as soon as I got off tour I started drinking, and then drinking more. I fell right back into being a horrible drunk again.”
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The musician finally got sober and committed to taking his health seriously after receiving a frightening warning from a doctor.
“It got so bad I had to go to UCLA Hospital and the doctor said, ‘If you don’t stop, you’re going to die. And right now, you’re looking like you need a new liver,’” Rivers said. “I fought liver disease for a couple years and it won. I had to get a liver transplant in 2017.”
Rivers was able to rejoin Limp Bizkit one year after his liver transplant.
Who Else Has He Worked With?
Rivers formed the band Sleepkillers with Burn Season vocalist Damien Starkey, Saliva drummer and vocalist Bobby Amaru and Puddle of Mudd guitarist Adam Latiff. Sleepkillers released their self-titled debut album in 2019.
During Limp Bizkit’s hiatus from 2006 to 2009, Rivers returned to the Florida music scene to produce music for Burn Season and Indorphine.
The bassist also worked with Marilyn Manson, industrial rock band Black Light Burns and Disturbed frontman David Draiman.
How Did Limp Bizkit Announce His Death?
All four surviving members of Limp Bizkit released a joint statement on October 18, 2025, to confirm Rivers’ death.
“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,” they wrote via Instagram. “We shared so many moments — wild ones, quiet ones, beautiful ones — and every one of them meant more because Sam was there.”
Limp Bizkit’s statement continued, “He was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of human. A true legend of legends. And his spirit will live forever in every groove, every stage, every memory. We love you, Sam. We’ll carry you with us, always. Rest easy, brother. Your music never ends.”
How Did He Die?
No cause of death was specified in Limp Bizkit’s statement. DJ Lethal asked for privacy on behalf of Rivers’ loved ones as they grieved.
“Please respect the family’s privacy at this moment,” DJ Lethal asked fans via Instagram on October 18, 2025. “Give Sam his flowers and play Sam rivers basslines all day ! 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
What’s Next for Limp Bizkit?
Limp Bizkit have not yet canceled their planned Gringo Papi Tour, which is also scheduled to feature Yungblud, 311, Ecca Vandal, Riff Raff and Slay Squad. The seven-date tour is set to kick off at the Explanada del Estadio Banorte in Mexico City on November 29, 2025.
