Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland has admitted that he and his bandmates in the nü-metal icons are still very much grieving the loss of their bassist Sam Rivers, who passed away last October. That period of mourning of course remains readily apparent, with the band staging tributes to both Rivers and truck driver Dougie Miller during this band’s headlining set at this past weekend’s headlining set at the annual ‘Download Festival‘.
Miller passed away in an accident while en route to the aforementioned festival and had been been serving as a driver for Limp Bizkit‘s spring overseas touring. In a new interview with Heavy Consequence, Borland opened up a bit on his late bandmate, stating, “He 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:
“He 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 onto 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.”
He later 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.”
A cause of death for Rivers was not publicly announced, though a police deport shed some light on the circumstances of his untimely passing. Limp Bizkit would go on to return to the stage in late November of 2025 with Ecca Vandal bassist Richie “Kid Not” Buxton serving as Rivers‘ live replacement, a position Buxton continues to hold.
Rivers was a crucial co-founding member of Limp Bizkit and was hailed by the his bandmates as, “the pulse beneath every song,” in the wake of his passing. Earlier this month, Limp Bizkit released this video tribute to him, which they initially aired during their first show since his passing late last year.
