`Slipknot` bassist Paul Gray found dead

'Slipknot' bassist Paul Gray was found dead in a hotel room.

London: Paul Gray, the bassist of the controversial heavy metal band `Slipknot`, was found dead in a hotel room in Iowa.

A hotel employee found 38-year-old Gray in a room at the Town Plaza Hotel in Urbandale, a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa, yesterday, reported Daily Mail online. Police said foul play was not suspected and a post-mortem examination will be carried out today. Slipknot`s self-titled debut in 1999 sold more than a million copies. Known for its grotesque masks, the band won a Grammy in 2006 for best metal performance for the song `Before I Forget`. Concert industry trade publication Pollstar ranked Slipknot 18th in its Top 20 Concert Tours list last year. The band emerged in the mid-1990s with an aggressive mix of heavy metal and a vocal style that included growling, rapping and singing. The group is known for its attention-grabbing image, members wear matching jumpsuit uniforms, and each one has a unique mask. In the past, their jumpsuits have featured large UPC barcodes printed on the back and sleeves, which are identical and render the same barcode number to the barcode on their first demo, `Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat`. The band has been known for extreme behaviour during live performances, including urinating and vomiting on stage, according to biographies. In 2003, Gray admitted that he was on drugs when his Porsche collided with another car that year in Des Moines. Noone was seriously injured. Under a plea agreement, prosecutors dropped charges of possession of marijuana, cocaine and syringes. PTI