Limp Bizkit bassist Sam Rivers has revealed that he temporarily departed the group due to contracting liver disease as a result of “excessive drinking”.
The musician parted ways with the nu-metal outfit back in 2015 before returning to his role in 2018. At the time, Rivers cited degenerative disc disease as the reason for leaving.
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Writing in Jon Wiederhorn’s new book Raising Hell: Backstage Tales From The Lives Of Metal Legends, the bassist has now opened up on the actual reason behind his three-year hiatus.
“I got liver disease from excessive drinking,” he wrote (via Loudwire), adding that he was initially diagnosed with the condition in 2011.
“I didn’t really get what was happening back then. I stopped drinking and battled the liver disease for a bit.”
Rivers went on to explain that he later “got clean for about nine or 10 months” before heading back out on the road with Limp Bizkit. However, he later relapsed, forcing him to take an extended break from the band in order to make a full recovery.
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“I was super clean, but my home life wasn’t that great at the time and as soon as I got off tour I started drinking, and then drinking more,” he added. “I fell right back into being a horrible drunk again.”
Speaking about eventually taking the decision to step back from his duties, Rivers said: “I had to leave Limp Bizkit in 2015 because I felt so horrible, and a few months after that I realised I had to change everything because I had really bad liver disease.
“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 toured with Limp Bizkit throughout last summer, with the band taking on a number of European festival dates in 2019.
Last month, they joined Machine Gun Kelly on stage in LA for a performance of ‘Break Stuff‘.