Slipknot bassist Paul Gray was found dead in a hotel room in Iowa Monday morning by local police in Urbandale, Iowa. He was 38.
Gray was the bass player as well as a founding member of the Grammy Award-winning rock band Slipknot.
Police stated that there is no foul play involved with the investigation surrounding his death at this time. He had a history of drug abuse problems, but no autopsy reports have been released yet.
An employee from the TownePlace Suites in Urbandale found the musician dead at 10:50 a.m. Local police stated that an investigation is underway along with an autopsy set for Tuesday including toxicology reports, reported the [i]Des Moines Register[/i].
“It’s just a devastating loss for the Des Moines music scene and the world’s music scene. He was always one of the nicest guys. You never heard anything negative from him,” said musician Shawn Crahan to the Des Moines Register.
Gray was known in the modern rock world as #2 and “Pig” based on a mask he wore onstage. One of Slipknots key factors to their image are the theatrical masks that each member wears to solidify their identity with the band.
Gray helped form the original line up for Slipknot with Shawn Crahan or “Clown” and Joey Jordison in 1995. As Slipknot grew, many people have come and gone, but Gray never left and was the sole bassist for the band until his death, reported MTV.com.
He has had a history of drug problems.
Gray was arrested for drug possession in 2003 after a car accident in Des Moines. Police charged the late Slipknot bassist with possession of marijuana, cocaine, and hypodermic needles. Charges were dropped after Gray admitted to being under the influence of drugs while driving.
Slipknot has released four albums with two of them going platinum and two going gold. The band has also released four platinum-selling DVDs.
Current singer Corey Taylor has also stepped outside of the band to work on other projects such as Stone Sour which released the single “Bother” in 2003 that was featured on the Spider Man soundtrack.
Gray was the bass player as well as a founding member of the Grammy Award-winning rock band Slipknot.
Police stated that there is no foul play involved with the investigation surrounding his death at this time. He had a history of drug abuse problems, but no autopsy reports have been released yet.
An employee from the TownePlace Suites in Urbandale found the musician dead at 10:50 a.m. Local police stated that an investigation is underway along with an autopsy set for Tuesday including toxicology reports, reported the [i]Des Moines Register[/i].
“It’s just a devastating loss for the Des Moines music scene and the world’s music scene. He was always one of the nicest guys. You never heard anything negative from him,” said musician Shawn Crahan to the Des Moines Register.
Gray was known in the modern rock world as #2 and “Pig” based on a mask he wore onstage. One of Slipknots key factors to their image are the theatrical masks that each member wears to solidify their identity with the band.
Gray helped form the original line up for Slipknot with Shawn Crahan or “Clown” and Joey Jordison in 1995. As Slipknot grew, many people have come and gone, but Gray never left and was the sole bassist for the band until his death, reported MTV.com.
He has had a history of drug problems.
Gray was arrested for drug possession in 2003 after a car accident in Des Moines. Police charged the late Slipknot bassist with possession of marijuana, cocaine, and hypodermic needles. Charges were dropped after Gray admitted to being under the influence of drugs while driving.
Slipknot has released four albums with two of them going platinum and two going gold. The band has also released four platinum-selling DVDs.
Current singer Corey Taylor has also stepped outside of the band to work on other projects such as Stone Sour which released the single “Bother” in 2003 that was featured on the Spider Man soundtrack.
