In a new interview with Argentina's Rock & Pop, vocalist/guitarist Matt Tuck of Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, who are supporting LIMP BIZKIT on the Latin American "Loserville Gringo Papi Tour 2025", spoke about the recent passing of LIMP BIZKIT bassist Sam Rivers. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The first that we heard about it was when it was on social media. That's kind of how it is these days. And, yeah, [we were] just shocked. I'd been a fan of LIMP BIZKIT for nearly 30 years. I first saw those guys before 'Three Dollar Bill[, Y'all]' came out in 1997, at home in Wales supporting KORN on the 'Life Is Peachy' tour. And that moment for me was huge as a teenager. That band and that lineup, it's ingrained in my brain and in my musical DNA. And Sam was a huge part of that for LIMP BIZKIT. He was the backbone of the foundation of that band."

Tuck continued: "So, yeah, we feel their loss. We feel their pain. And to be here celebrating him on this tour with them and [BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE being added to the tour] at such late notice [after Yungblud pulled out of the trek], it's kind of a… I don't know. It's hard to explain it. It feels like it's a real moment that means a lot to LIMP BIZKIT. It means a lot to their fanbase. And we're just so honored and proud that they invited us here to be on this tour with them, especially because of what this tour represents for them. And it's just sad — it's just a really sad moment. But they are here, and they're doing it for Sam. And we're just here with them every step of the way and hopefully we add a bit of value to the tour. We met the guys for the very first time in Mexico City a few days ago, and I couldn't describe how humble and normal and how just lovely, beautiful human beings they all are. It's nice. When they say, 'Don't meet your heroes,' on this occasion that's incorrect. They've been nothing but kind and welcoming and accommodating to us, and we're just so fucking honored that we can be here to celebrate this moment for Sam with them. It feels good."

LIMP BIZKIT played its first concert following Rivers's death on November 29 at Explanada Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, Mexico. Handling the bass duties for the band at the opening show of LIMP BIZKIT's Latin American "Loserville Gringo Papi Tour 2025" was Kid Not (a.k.a. Richie Buxton),a songwriting partner/producer of tour opener Ecca Vandal, who is a singer-songwriter and rapper currently living in Melbourne, Australia.

During the concert, LIMP BIZKIT paid tribute to Rivers with a short video compilation of some of Sam's onstage moments with his bandmates. The surviving LIMP BIZKIT members turned their backs to the large audience to watch the clip before the words "Sam Rivers, our brother forever" appeared on the screen, then changing to "Sam Rivers, we love you forever." The musicians embraced each other at the end of the touching display of respect for their fallen bandmate.

Before taking the stage in Mexico City, LIMP BIZKIT drummer John Otto shared a moving statement online in which he addressed Sam's absence. He wrote: "Today is going to be tough. A first I never wanted to experience. Especially not now.

"You've been there for so many major firsts in my life. Some of my earliest memories were made with you. We grew up together. Laughed together. Realized our dreams together. And traveled the world together. You've always been there. The godfather to my girls, my best friend — my brother. There will never be another you.

"We're going to honor the life you lived and the love you spread with every show we play. You'll always be with us.

"Thank you to our fans for all the messages of support and tributes to Sam. It means the world to us.

"This one's for you Sammy."

LIMP BIZKIT has a few more shows to play in December as part of the aforementioned "Loserville Gringo Papi Tour 2025". They will perform in Colombia on December 5, Peru on December 9, Chile on December 13, Argentina on December 16, and Brazil on December 20. Support on the trek is coming from BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, 311, Ecca Vandal, RIFF RAFF and SLAY SQUAD.

Rivers passed away on October 18 at the age of 48, He reportedly died in the bathroom of his Florida home, according to an incident report obtained by TMZ. The report revealed that a deputy from the St. Johns County Sheriff's Department in St. Augustine said a caller informed police that she found the musician face down in his bathroom just before she dialed 911.

LIMP BIZKIT, which was founded by Rivers and frontman Fred Durst in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1994, announced the bassist's passing in an Instagram post on October 18.

"Today we lost our brother. Our bandmate. Our heartbeat," the statement began. "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.

"From the first note we ever played together, Sam brought a light and a rhythm that could never be replaced," the statement — which was signed by his bandmates Durst, Wes Borland, Otto and DJ Lethal — continued. "His talent was effortless, his presence unforgettable, his heart enormous."

The group went on to remember Rivers as a "once-in-a-lifetime kind of human" and a "true legend of legends."

"His spirit will live forever in every groove, every stage, every memory," Rivers's bandmates added. "We love you, Sam. We'll carry you with us, always."

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.

He performed his last concert with LIMP BIZKIT in August at the Leeds festival in the U.K.

In a new interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, ARMORED SAINT singer John Bush spoke about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's long-awaited ninth studio album, due next year through Metal Blade Records. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It is done. It's mastered and completed. I don't know what our protocol is here regarding telling people what the title is and the songtitles. I'm still kind of trying to figure out, can we do that? What's going on with that? But it'll be soon enough. We'll probably announce it in the new year, realistically. But, yeah, the record's great. It sounds awesome. And we just kind of keep thinking steps up as far as our style and just our whole trip.

"I'm really proud of what ARMORED SAINT has done for the last couple of records," he continued. "We made some really killer albums. [2015's] 'Win Hands Down' was the second-to-the-last record, and then the last one was [2020's] 'Punching The Sky', which is a great album, and this new one, it just kind of keeps building on that. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to being able to talk about that, doing interviews, talking about the record and going out there and playing some shows."

Pressed for some details about the upcoming ARMORED SAINT LP, Bush said:  "Believe me, I wanna talk about it. I'm still kind of confused as to when we're gonna put out a release date on it. We should do a press release very soon… But whatever — when it comes out, it comes out. But, yeah, there's 11 tunes on it, which was something we were struggling with, because sometimes ARMORED SAINT has a tendency to write songs a little too long. And then our label was saying, like, 'Come on, man. Shorter tunes. Shorter tunes.' And we were, like, 'Okay, okay. We're gonna focus on shorter songs,' which is just come in with a slug in the face and make it brief, which we did, actually."

John continued: "Metal Blade, our label, is always great about putting out vinyl on every album. And they just do a great job with the packaging. And at one point Joey [Vera, ARMORED SAINT bassist] was saying, 'Well, we might only have certain amount of songs 'cause of vinyl.' I was, like, 'No way. We haven't put out a record in six years. We cannot put out nine songs. Our fans will kill us if we do that. We need to have all the songs that we wrote and that we finished.' And we ended up doing that. So it's gonna be at least 11 tunes. And the artwork's great."

As for a possible release date for the new ARMORED SAINT album, Bush said: "We were supposed to have a date of April 8th or [April] 9th, but I don't know if that's still in play. So I'm probably still saying way more than I'm supposed to. And I wanna talk about it. Believe me, I wanna send you cuts off the record, so you can hit 'listen' to them. And I will do that when I can."

On the topic of ARMORED SAINT's touring plans in support of the upcoming LP, John said: "We have some stuff booked in Europe for next summer, some festivals, and we're doing some dates with SAVATAGE, which is gonna be really cool. That's a band from our era that we played the Dynamo festival in 1989. And the first time we ever went to Europe was with SAVATAGE on the 'Hall Of The Mountain King' record, which is a killer album. So I'm really excited to go out there and play a couple shows with those guys. And they've always had a huge vibe in Europe. And so, yeah, it's gonna be great. We're gonna be busy."

Two months ago, Bush told Metal Kaoz that ARMORED SAINT's new album was being mixed by Jay Ruston, who previously worked on "Punching The Sky" and "Win Hands Down".

Bush also seemingly ruled out the possibility of ARMORED SAINT performing any of the band's new songs live before next year, explaining: "You could do whatever you want as a band, of course, but usually the label kind of frowns on playing new tunes before the record's released, because with YouTube and everything, people got it, and it's, like, you don't wanna release that until the actual record, or at least the first couple videos come out. I'm sure we'll make a couple videos, and certainly a couple songs will be singles that will come out prior to the actual record release. So, realistically, I would say something like February, you'll probably hear a new ARMORED SAINT song."

In September, Bush told Chel Evah of Art Paparazza & Chel Shock Photography that ARMORED SAINT recorded 11 songs for the upcoming LP. Referencing what will be a six-year gap between "Punching The Sky" and ARMORED SAINT's next album, John said: "It's a long time coming, but I blame COVID, because it pushed everyone back a little bit, 'cause 'Punching The Sky' came out in 2020. Plus we've toured a lot in the last couple years. So, to do some writing in conjunction with touring, it's not easy. Everyone aspires to write on the road, but it's difficult. But we have a bunch of great tunes. We're really excited. The record sounds awesome. And I'm real fired up and I can't wait to go out in '26 and play a bunch of new tunes."

Bush previously talked about ARMORED SAINT's upcoming LP earlier in September in an interview with Pete Pardo of Sea Of Tranquility. He said at the time: "We went out and toured a lot [in support of 'Punching The Sky']. So, we were able to do that, and did a couple of more tours, and we were really not planning on it. But getting out there and playing was great. And we actually sold so many records and CDs on the road, it was crazy. We actually re-charted because we sold so many records out there. So, kudos to all the fanbase who bought records and CDs and shirts, of course. But it kind of did push things back a little bit. We don't work that quick as it is, quite frankly, but I always said it for years: the quality of the tunes is contrary to the amount, because that's the fact for us. But the new record will be out next year. And I think it's great. It's gonna just kind of build on everything we've been doing."

Circling back to ARMORED SAINT's increased touring activity and how it affected the making of the band's new album, John said: "We toured a lot. We actually put out four videos on the last record. So we've been on the public side maybe more than ever. And really I say this and it's really kind of the truth is ARMORED SAINT's probably bigger than we've ever been. Maybe there was a stretch in 1984 that we were maybe more popular, but honestly we're probably bigger than we ever were. So, we're just riding it. And the new record will be great, and I think people will dig it. And it really kind of shows sophistication in the songwriting, and we really believe in that. We try to kind of bring in all our different influences and styles and use some different instrumentation and take chances with arrangement a little bit. And I'm really proud of it. I think the songwriting is just — yeah, it's built on everything we've done. The origins of the band, our hard rock heavy metal band, but we really kind of feel like we just keep pushing the boundaries. And it's always gonna sound like SAINT. And this one does too. But I don't know. That's my pitch. I mean, of course it comes down to what the fans think."

After Pardo noted that ARMORED SAINT's musical output has been remarkably "consistent" over the group's four-decade career, Bush concurred. "When your band's been around as long as we have, and that goes for all the bands who have a four-decade career, is that usually new music means the opportunity to go take a piss or go get a couple of beers," he said. "But I really feel like people really think our last couple records have been great. And I think for us to keep building on that and keep writing new material that sounds very legit, I think is important. And not everybody can say that. Everybody kind of says it, but how much do you really believe it? And I really believe [it in our case]. I mean, again, it comes down to what the press and what the fanbase says, and they're the ones that make the final decision, really, on it. But at the end of the day, they've been saying ARMORED SAINT's making really great, modern music, so I'm stoked."

At the end of September, the band joined W.A.S.P. for a trio of U.K. shows before returning to the States to support legendary guitarist Michael Schenker on his "My Years With UFO" U.S. tour. ARMORED SAINT was celebrating the 40th anniversary of its second album, "Delirious Nomad", with a five-song micro set of songs from the record throughout the tour.

Last November, ARMORED SAINT bassist Joey Vera told Metal Kaoz about the musical and lyrical direction of the band's new material: "Every record we've made has been a little bit different than the one prior to it, and this one will be the same case where it will be a little different than 'Punching'. But our number one thing is just writing really great songs. We're not so concerned about trying to outdo the last record or do as good as it is or do the same thing. I always think that it's cool to just see where you are at that moment. And these songs that we've written, just like the last three or four records we've made, they all represent a particular time and place for us. So this these batch of songs, they're a reflection of where we are at a time and place right now. We're in post-COVID, we're coming back out of it, back into the world, and different things are influencing me personally than they were in 2014 when I was writing for [2015's] 'Win Hands Down'. So all those things are at play again. I'm trying to take a few chances as well on this, which we always try to do a little bit."

In June 2024, ARMORED SAINT released a rendition of "One Chain (Don't Make No Prison)". The classic track was originally written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter and was first released by PEOPLE in 1970. Additional covers include THE FOUR TOPS (1974),SANTANA (1978) and THE DOOBIE BROTHERS (1989).

"One Chain (Don't Make No Prison)" was produced by Vera, mixed by Jay Ruston and mastered by Maor Applebaum.

ARMORED SAINT released the "Symbol Of Salvation Live" CD/DVD in 2021 via Metal Blade Records. The release came in celebration of the seminal album's 30th anniversary. "Symbol Of Salvation Live" was a combination live album and video of the band playing the album in its entirety at New York City's famed Gramercy Theatre during its 2018 tour.

In July 2023, ARMORED SAINT was inducted into the Metal Hall Of Fame at the legendary Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.

In May 2023, ARMORED SAINT's long-awaited documentary, Armored Saint: Band Of Brothers", had its world premiere in the band's hometown at the Harmony Gold Theatre in Hollywood, California.

Photo by Stephanie Cabral

Legendary BLACK SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler recently penned a moving tribute to Ozzy Osbourne for the October 2025 issue of U.K.'s Uncut magazine. He wrote in part: "At the final show [at 'Back To The Beginning' in early July], [Ozzy] was much quieter than I'd ever known him. Looking back now, I think he knew he wasn't long for this world, but not that he'd leave it so soon. He was looking forward to spending his days back in England.

"I am so grateful that we were able to play one final show together, the original four of us, back in our home town. He held on so he could do that gig, to say farewell to the fans. He was very emotional. It was so important to him to say goodbye after illness had prevented him from touring for the past six or seven years. He wanted to see his fans one final time, play with his own band and with SABBATH one last time."

Butler added: "The outpouring of tributes and respect from all walks of music and the love from the fans has been amazing. He was larger than life and his legacy will live forever. He may have been The Prince Of Darkness, but for me he was a family-loving, soft-hearted, best friend anyone could ever have."

You can read Geezer's entire tribute at Uncut.

Two months ago, Geezer was asked by the Gabbing With Girlfriends podcast hosted by his wife and manager Gloria Butler what his initial reaction was to being approached to play at the "Back To The Beginning" event in July at Villa Park in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The concert marked Ozzy's and BLACK SABBATH's final performance before the singer's death a little over two weeks later. Geezer said: "I suppose I was just wondering how everybody would do. I knew Ozzy wasn't in the best of health. I knew Bill [Ward, original SABBATH drummer] hadn't been well for a while. Tony [Iommi, SABBATH guitarist] was up for it, and I was up for it as long as everybody else was. And I said 'yeah' straight away, 'I'll do it.' Especially as it was at Villa Park, [the home stadium of] my football team and one of the earliest places I ever went to and I was a little child."

Geezer went on to say that the event was particularly special because he hadn't been in contact with some of his longtime bandmates for nearly a decade. "Because you and Sharon [Osbourne, Ozzy's wife and manager] had fallen out, I didn't see Ozzy at all for about six years after the last gig," Geezer told his wife during the podcast. "Then you and Sharon [were] talking and everything was okay again, and it was great to finally get to talk to Ozzy again. We used to text each other every day. He used to send me some funny things and I'd send him some funny things. It was just great to be back together again after all these years. I mean, he's probably my oldest friend. I've known him for 57 years, so it was great to get back together again."

Reflecting on the rehearsal sessions for "Back To The Beginning", Geezer said: "When we get together, it's almost like we've just seen each other the week before, even though it's been like six or seven years or whatever. Of course, Tony was joking about Bill 'cause he kept saying he looked like [ancestral Hobbit] Gollum. [Laughs] The only shocking bit was when Ozzy came in. I knew Ozzy was very ill, but I didn't realize how ill he was. We were rehearsing, the three of us. We started — me, Tony and Bill — rehearsed for the first two days just to get all the music together, sort out which songs we were gonna do and everything like that. And then on the third day, Ozzy came in and he was helped in by two helpers. And I was just shocked to see him like that. And, of course, being Ozzy, he had to crack a few jokes and things. And they had like an armchair set aside so he could sit down to sing through the songs, 'cause he couldn't stand up. I think we rehearsed about six or seven songs and picked out four or five. We knew we could only do four or five 'cause of the time limit, and we picked out the four or five songs that sounded the best and which we were most comfortable with. And after that, we fell into the old SABBATH again. Ozzy could only do it once, could only rehearse, go through the songs one time and then he'd leave and we'd sort of carry on. We had to get the solos really well together and stuff like that."

Geezer added that he and the other members of SABBATH picked up where they left off years earlier. "Yeah, we always do," he explained. "There's never any sort of egos or resentments for each other. It's just a bit of a laugh fest when Tony picks up on taking the piss out of Bill as usual. Bill loves being taken the piss out of. It was just funny doing the old jokes, just talking about the same old stuff. It's good."

Referencing the fact that Ozzy died only 17 days after "Back To The Beginning", Geezer said: "I'm so glad it happened like that, that we finished on such a great note."

Ozzy and the other SABBATH members performed four songs for more than 40,000 people at Villa Park in the band's original hometown of Birmingham, United Kingdom and 5.8 million more on a livestream. Ozzy also played a five-song solo set while seated in a bat-adorned throne.

The "Back To The Beginning" concert, which was hosted by actor Jason Momoa — whose passion for heavy metal music runs deep — also featured performances by METALLICA, GUNS N' ROSES, SLAYER, TOOL, PANTERA, GOJIRA, ALICE IN CHAINS, HALESTORM, LAMB OF GOD, ANTHRAX, MASTODON and RIVAL SONS.

Less than five months ago, Geezer penned an article for U.K.'s The Sunday Times in which he reflected on his final appearance with Ozzy. Regarding what it was like to rehearse with Osbourne for "Back To The Beginning", Butler wrote: "I knew he wasn't in good health, but I wasn't prepared to see how frail he was. He was helped into the rehearsal room by two helpers and a nurse and was using a cane — being Ozzy, the cane was black and studded with gold and precious stones. He didn't really say much beyond the usual greetings and when he sang, he sat in a chair. We ran through the songs but we could see it was exhausting him after six or seven songs. We had a bit of a chat, but he was really quiet compared with the Ozzy of old."

Looking back on Ozzy's performance at Villa Park, Geezer wrote in The Sunday Times article: "Nobody knew he'd be gone from us little more than two weeks after the final show. But I am so grateful we got to play one last time together in front of his beloved fans. The love from the fans and all the bands, musicians, singers and solo artists that night was incredible. Everyone had come to pay homage to the Prince. I am so privileged to have spent most of my life with him. Of course there are millions of things I will think of that I should have written, but how can I sum up 57 incredible years of friendship in a few paragraphs? God bless, Oz, it has been one hell of a ride! Love you!"

Ozzy died on July 22 of a heart attack, his death certificate revealed. The certificate also reportedly said the 76-year-old musician suffered from coronary artery disease and Parkinson's disease.

In his tribute to Ozzy on the day of the singer's death, Geezer wrote on social media: "Goodbye dear friend- thanks for all those years- we had some great fun, 4 kids from Aston- who'd have thought, eh? So glad we got to do it one last time, back in Aston. Love you."

Formed in Birmingham in 1968, BLACK SABBATH is widely recognized as one of the most influential heavy metal bands of all time, with a career spanning decades and over 75 million albums sold worldwide, according to the band's web site. Their impact on the genre remains as significant today as it was in the early 1970s, with their music shaping generations of metal musicians.

In 2006, Osbourne and the other members of the original BLACK SABBATH were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Ozzy was also inducted into the Rock Hall as a solo artist in 2024.

The original lineup of SABBATH came together with Iommi, Osbourne, Butler and Ward. That lineup recorded and toured through 1978, and periodically reformed through the '90s and 2000s for live work.

They regrouped again in late 2011 for a new album and tour, although Ward dropped out after a few months over financial issues. SABBATH used Ozzy's touring drummer Tommy Clufetos since then for live work. RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's Brad Wilk laid down the drum tracks on SABBATH's reunion album "13", which came out in June 2013.

In February 2017, SABBATH finished "The End" tour in Birmingham, closing out the quartet's groundbreaking 49-year career.

"The End" was SABBATH's last tour because Iommi, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2012 and is currently in remission, can no longer travel for extended amounts of time.

SABBATH wrote and recorded "13" and toured it all over the world while Iommi was going through treatment for his illness, with the guitarist having to fly back to England every six weeks.

The boss of Birmingham Airport has shot down the idea of renaming it after Ozzy Osbourne.

Although a petition calling on the airport to change its name to Ozzy Osbourne International has attracted almost 77,000 signatures, the airport's CEO, Nick Barton, told BBC Radio WM it's not going to happen.

"Birmingham, amazingly, has an extraordinary list of fantastically influential people, going from historic people like Charles Darwin, as well as Robert Plant and Sir Lenny Henry but the answer is no," Barton said. "The airport name is so important for our future development of what we've got, which is a fantastic airport, but yet to grow significantly, which we will do on the back of its name."

Barton added that the airport is planning to honor Osbourne's legacy in the form of "a mural recognition of Ozzy and other greats in the area."

Two months ago, Birmingham Airport released a statement in which it said: "We are currently progressing an exciting homage to Ozzy Osbourne creating a greater sense of place for Birmingham and his fans.

"We know he was an inspiration to so many in our region proving talent, hard work and commitment can take you to all corners of the world and we are committed to honouring his legacy within our terminal space."

The airport's current name is simply Birmingham Airport and uses the code BHX.

Ozzy's daughter Kelly Osbourne threw her support behind the idea of renaming Birmingham's airport after him, telling BBC WM that it would be an "incredible tribute to him and the legacy that he has left behind". She added it would be fitting, because "this city made him, and he made this city".

Dan Hudson, who launched the petition to rename the airport Ozzy Osbourne International, took his campaign to a meeting of Solihull Council, where he told councillors: "Heavy metal was invented in this area by a man named Ozzy Osbourne in the late 1960s, instantly resonating around the world and having a global impact on generations upon generations of music fans.

"Ozzy died just three weeks after playing a record-breaking concert at Villa Park. According to the event's music director, it raised £140 million for various charities.

"I set up a petition to rename Birmingham Airport after Ozzy. Overnight it went stratospheric. The campaign has been covered in every corner of the globe giving our airport more international coverage than it has ever had before."

Dan said renaming an airport was "not without precedent in the U.K." citing Liverpool's John Lennon and Belfast's George Best airports. "There have been other petitions to honor Mr. Osbourne but this is by far and away the most realistic and popular," he added.

Ozzy died on July 22 of a heart attack, his death certificate revealed. The certificate filed in London also said Osbourne suffered from coronary artery disease and Parkinson's disease.

A private funeral service for Ozzy was held on July 31 on the 250-acre grounds of the house the legendary BLACK SABBATH singer and his wife bought in 1993 in Buckinghamshire, England. Only 110 of Ozzy's friends and family members attended the service.

The day before the private funeral, thousands of fans gathered in the streets of Birmingham to pay tribute to Ozzy. Sharon, along with their children Aimée, Kelly and Jack, joined mourners for the emotional tribute.

Photo credit: Ross Halfin