LIMP BIZKIT's WES BORLAND On SAM RIVERS's Death: 'It's Just Like We Lost A Piece Of Our DNA'

In a new interview with Heavy Consequence, LIMP BIZKIT guitarist Wes Borland spoke about last year's passing of the band's bassist Sam Rivers. Rivers, who was born in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1977, was one third of the original LIMP BIZKIT lineup in 1994, alongside vocalist Fred Durst and drummer John Otto. (Borland and DJ Lethal joined in 1996.) Borland told Heavy Consequence: "[Sam] was like family. I'm gonna try not to cry. It's just like we lost a piece of our DNA. It's too hard to talk about right now in depth."

He continued: "[Sam] can't ever be replaced. I mean, we're so lucky for Richie [Buxton], who's playing with us right now. He's such a great player, and he's just a wonderful guy, and we're gonna hold on to him for as long as we can, 'cause he also plays in a band with his wife, Ecca Vandal, and they're doing really great right now, and their career's kind of blowing up. But we're just gonna keep Richie for as long as we can and keep moving forward."

Borland added: "Sam is not a replaceable person. He was the heartbeat. It's crazy talking about… very emotional talking about it. I think that last year when it happened, we were all kind of in shock, and now we're all grieving."

Rivers left LIMP BIZKIT in 2015 for health reasons that he later revealed were liver ailments due to alcohol abuse.

"I got 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 revealed in Jon Wiederhorn's book "Raising Hell (Backstage Tales From The Lives Of Metal Legends)". "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 recalled doctors warning him that he would die without quitting alcohol. "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.'"

Sam rejoined LIMP BIZKIT in 2018 and remained in the group until his death.

When Sam's LIMP BIZKIT bandmates announced his passing, they wrote in a statement: "Today we lost our brother. Our bandmate. Our heartbeat. 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.

"He was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of human," the eulogy — signed by Durst, Borland, Otto and DJ Lethal — read. "A true legend of legends. And his spirit will live forever in every groove, every stage, every memory."

LIMP BIZKIT is currently touring Europe and will return to the U.S. for a series of festival appearances this summer and fall, including Summer Of '99 And Beyond, Inkcarceration, Louder Than Life and Aftershock.