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Slipknot Bassist Dead

May 25, 2010 by · Comments Off on Slipknot Bassist Dead 

Slipknot Bassist DeadSlipknot Bassist Dead:DES MOINES, Iowa – Paul Gray, bassist of the Grammy-winning band Slipknot metal, was found dead Monday in a hotel room in Iowa, but there were no indications of foul play, police said.

A hotel employee found Gray, 38, dead in a room at the TownePlace Suites in Urbandale, a suburb of Des Moines, the police said in a statement. An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday.

Paul Gray was an amazing person on and off stage. He will be missed by many singers like me,” Jacoby Shaddix, Papa Roach metal band said in a statement late Monday. “Their spirit will live on through the good music he wrote.”

Gray had been staying at the hotel for “a couple of days,” Urbandale Sgt. Dave Disney said, declining further comment. Gray lived in the nearby suburb of Johnston.

Amy Sciarretto, a publicist for the record company Slipknot, Roadrunner Records, confirmed the death of Gray, but declined further comment.

Known for its grotesque masks, shattering the songs sound, aggressive, dark, Slipknot released their debut album in 1999 and sold over 2 million copies. Most band members grew up in Des Moines area.

“It’s a devastating loss. Paul was a wonderful human being,” said Andy Hall, music director of rock station Lazer 103.3 Des Moines who said he had known Gray for 10 years. Hall said Gray was a talented bass player and one of the kindest, most caring what he knew.

“This is a big blow not only to the community of Des Moines, but metal fans in general, everybody,” Hall said, noting that the station planned to broadcast a one hour tribute to Gray on the night of Monday.

Slipknot emerged in the mid-1990s with an aggressive mix of heavy metal and a vocal style that included grunts, rap and sing. The band is characterized by extreme behavior during live performances, including urine and vomiting on stage, according to his biography.

The band won a Grammy in 2006 for best metal performance of the song “Before I Forget” and the concert industry trade publication Pollstar Slipknot ranked 18th in its list of Top 20 concert tours in 2009.

In 2003, Gray admitted he was high when his red 2001 Porsche collided with another car this year in Des Moines. No one was seriously injured. Under a plea deal, the prosecutors dropped charges of possession of marijuana, cocaine and syringes.

Press reports said that when the court records included a handwritten note by Dr. Joe Takamine describing conversations with Gray that they were “very frank and open about his sporadic use of various drugs and long periods of abstinence in between. ”

Tom Ramirez, a drummer from Des Moines, who became friends in high school, Gray said he met Gray in concert a few months ago and thought Gray “looked good.” Ramirez recalled Gray as someone who always made time for his fans and old friends in Des Moines.

“He was always accepted and was not conceited. It was a people person. He knew that his friends and who their friends were,” Ramirez said. “He did not forget the little people back here.”

Slipknot is one of the most popular metal bands and you can still fill stadiums, said David Gehlke, editor in chief of blistering.com, a heavy metal and rock website.

The band is on a hiatus of one year and planned to play with hail Gray, a metal band superstars that includes the former lead singer of Judas Priest and covered songs from that band, Motorhead and Iron Maiden, Gehlke said.

“It’s going to be quite the blow to Slipknot and their fan base,” Gehlke said in a telephone interview from Pittsburgh.

Gehlke noted the death of heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio, who performed with various groups including Black Sabbath, last week, the singer and bassist Peter Steel last month.

“This is just a big surprise for many of us and it’s a shame too,” said Gehlke. “We have just He will, Pedro Steel Type O Negative – three very significant shock to the heavy metal community.”

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