Slipknot bassist Paul Dedrick Gray was found dead this morning at 10:50 AM CT at the TownePlace Suites in Urbandale, Iowa, police have confirmed. He was 38.
A hotel employee found Gray's body after receiving a call from a concerned family member. "They checked the room and found him deceased inside," officer Dave Disney of the Urbandale Police Department told Noisecreep. Gray was alone in the room and there was no disturbance and no evidence of foul play.
The bassist had checked into the hotel on May 22 and had received no complaints during his stay. "He was a quiet and respectful guest," hotel spokesman Chris Diebel told Noisecreep.
An autopsy will be conducted tomorrow to determine the cause of death.
Gray, who was one of the primary songwriters in the band, planted the seeds of Slipknot in 1992 with drummer Shawn Crahan. After Joey Jordison took over on drums, Crahan moved to percussion, and on Oct. 31, 1995 Slipknot released their first demo 'Mate.Feed.Kill.Repeat.' After replacing original vocalist Anders Colsefini with Corey Taylor, the band secured a record deal with Roadrunner and wrote their self-titled album, which was produced by Ross Robinson and released in 1999.
Since then, the band has released three commercially successful albums, including 2008's 'All Hope Is Gone.'
Our condolences go out to the friends and family of Gray.
