WASHINGTON:&nbsp;The founding bassist of American nu metal band Limp Bizkit, Sam Rivers, has died, the band announced on Saturday. He was 48. &quot;Today we lost our brother. Our bandmate. Our heartbeat,&quot; read a statement on Instagram attributed to band members Fred Durst, Wes Borland, John Otto and DJ Lethal. The statement did not specify a cause of death. &quot;Sam Rivers wasn&#39;t just our bass player -- he was pure magic... 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,&quot; the band members wrote. Limp Bizkit was formed by Rivers and Durst in 1994 and went on to release its debut album &quot;Three Dollar Bill, Y&#39;all&quot; in 1997. Building on their successful sophomore album, the band&#39;s third outing &quot;Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water&quot; debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart and sold more than a million copies in the first week of its 2000 release. Rivers left the band in 2015 because he had &quot;liver disease from excessive drinking&quot;, he reportedly said in a book by rock writer Jon Wiederhorn. Rivers rejoined Limp Bizkit in 2018 and featured in the band&#39;s most recent release, the 2021 album &quot;Still Sucks.&quot; Band members lauded Rivers as a &quot;true legend of legends&quot; in their Saturday tribute. &quot;We love you, Sam. We&#39;ll carry you with us, always,&quot; they wrote. &quot;Rest easy, brother. Your music never ends.&quot; DJ Lethal said in a comment that &quot;we are in shock&quot; and called for respect for the family&#39;s privacy.

Sam Rivers of Limp Bizkit performs at the Inkcarceration Music and Tattoo Festival on July 14, 2023, at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio. (AP) 

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The band announced his death without specifying a cause of death. Rivers had left the band in 2015 due to liver disease related to excessive drinking. 

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Limp Bizkit founding bassist Sam Rivers dies aged 48

Limp Bizkit founding bassist Sam Rivers dies aged 48