India, Oct. 19 -- Sam Rivers, the longtime bassist and founding member of Limp Bizkit, has died, the band confirmed in an emotional statement shared on Instagram. He was 48 years old.

The post announced that Rivers passed away earlier Saturday, describing him as 'pure magic - the pulse beneath every song, the calm in the chaos, the soul in the sound'.

Limp Bizkit called him not only a gifted musician but also 'a once-in-a-lifetime person and a legend among legends', adding, 'Rest easy, brother. Your music never ends'.

"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," the band wrote. "From the f...