Slipknot bassist dead at 38 Updated 7 hours 18 minutes ago
Dead at 38: Paul Gray of heavy metal band Slipknot. (Getty Images: Jo Hale, file photo)
Slipknot bassist Paul Gray has been found dead at a hotel near the band's home town of Des Moines, Iowa.
The circumstances of the 38-year-old's death are unclear.
His body was discovered at in a hotel room in Johnston, north of Des Moines, by an employee.
A spokesman for the nearby Urbandale Police Department says foul play is not suspected.
More information will likely be released on Tuesday (US time) following an autopsy.
Slipknot, known for wearing grotesque masks on stage to conceal their identities, formed in Des Moines in 1995.
Their self-titled debut in 1999 sold more than a million copies.
Their most recent album, 2008's All Hope Is Gone, topped the charts in Australia, as well as the US, Canada, New Zealand, Austria, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland.
In 2004, the nine-member band won a Grammy for best metal performance for the song Before I Forget.
"Paul Gray had a passion for music and a flair for the theatrical," said Neil Portnow, the president and chief executive of The Recording Academy, which organises The Grammys.
"The heavy metal world has lost an immense talent.
"Slipknot's loyal following will ensure he and his music are remembered for years to come," Mr Portnow added. |