LIMP BIZKIT guitarist WES BORLAND has spoken with raw emotion about the death of founding bassist SAM RIVERS, the man he calls the "heartbeat" of the band.
RIVERS, an original member of the nu-metal heavyweights, died last year, leaving a void that BORLAND admits the group is still struggling to process. "It's just like we lost a piece of our DNA," he said. "It's too hard to talk about right now in depth... very emotional talking about it. We were all kind of in shock, and now we're all grieving."
Born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1977, RIVERS co-founded LIMP BIZKIT in 1994 and became a cornerstone of their sound during their late-'90s and early-2000s commercial peak. He stepped away from the band in 2015 while battling liver disease brought on by alcohol abuse, ultimately receiving a liver transplant after getting sober. He rejoined LIMP BIZKIT in 2018 and remained with them until his death.
BORLAND made clear that RIVERS is irreplaceable. "Sam can't ever be replaced," he said. "Sam is not a replaceable person. He was the heartbeat." At the same time, he expressed gratitude for bassist Richie Buxton, who is currently filling in on the band's live dates: "We're so lucky for Richie, who's playing with us right now. He's such a great player."
LIMP BIZKIT are currently touring Europe and have a run of U.S. festival appearances lined up, including Summer Of '99 And Beyond, Inkcarceration, Louder Than Life and Aftershock — performances that now double as tributes to the bassist who helped build the band.