Sam Rivers , the founding bassist for Limp Bizkit , died on Saturday. He was 48. The band confirmed the news on social media.

“Today we lost our brother. Our bandmate. Our heartbeat,” Limp Bizkit wrote on Instagram , sharing a photo of Rivers. “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.”

In 1994, Rivers joined the band at singer Fred Durst’s request, he had been the bassist for Malachi Sage at the time. Rivers’ cousin John Otto joined as their drummer shortly afterward, with Wes Borland rounding out the original lineup that expanded to include DJ Lethal.

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“From the first note we ever played together, Sam brought a light

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