Paul Gray, 38, Slipknot bassist, found dead at hotel
Paul Gray, 38, bassist and founding member of the Grammy Award-winning band Slipknot, was found dead May 24 at a hotel in his home town of Des Moines. The cause of death was under investigation.
Slipknot, a heavy-metal band known for an intense, thrashing style of play, macabre masks and visceral stage antics, won a Grammy in 2006 for best metal performance for the song "Before I Forget." The band has been known for extreme behavior during live performances, including urinating and vomiting onstage, according to biographies.
Slipknot's controversial music has also been accused of inciting crimes. In 2003, two men were charged with murder, and prosecutors said their act was inspired by Slipknot's music. In 2006, the lyrics to the band's song "Surfacing" were left at the site of a grave-robbing in Kansas.
Mr. Gray, known to fans and bandmates as "No. 2" and "the pig," wore a black mask onstage that had a porcine nose and metal bars over the mouth opening.
Mr. Gray co-founded the band in 1995 with Shawn Crahan, known as "No. 6" and "the clown" for his clown mask. The group self-released its debut full-length album, "Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.," on Halloween in 1996.
After releasing its first major record label album, "Slipknot," in 1999, the band developed a large following as a voice of adolescent angst. The band released four other albums.
Despite the success of the band, which sold tens of millions of records, Mr. Gray said he and his bandmates kept a low-key profile offstage. He once said that, because of the masks, most of their fans didn't recognize them in public.
"When we started this, we never expected to set forth to making Slipknot what it is today," Mr. Gray told the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle last year on the 10th anniversary of the "Slipknot" album.
"It's amazing to be where we're at. It's thanks to the fans and support that we get. It's amazing to be able to make a living doing music, amazing to me, so I'm happy and excited about it -- I'm proud of the last 10 years."
-- From News Services and Staff Reports
-- From News Services and Staff Reports
