Des Moines, Iowa; May 24, 2010 -- A local hotel worker found the bassist dead this morning. Paul Gray, known as #2, or "The Pig" in the self-titled years, the lively bassist from Los Angeles who relocated with family to Des Moines and joined Slipknot and has played for the entire Slipknot career up to this point. Paul had a darker side to his life, dealing with drugs and alcohol abuse. It was announced on his MySpace page this year that he was expecting a child with his wife Brenna. Life looked on the up for Paul.

While currently under investigation, preliminary reports from a source at the scene indicate a drug overdose.

I first saw Slipknot at Dotfest 2 in 1997, shortly after they formed and right before they were signed. Clown came out and moshed with the crowd, and Pig had his pig mask on and was WICKED on the bass!

Paul will be missed.