Paul Gray: photo, cause of death

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

At the end of May 2010, the entire music world was shocked by terrible news: the famous Slipknot bass player Paul Gray was found dead in a hotel room. But even more shocking were the results of the examination, from which it followed that the musician died due to a drug overdose. The idol of millions passed away at the age of 38, but his memory remained in his music.

Childhood and youth

The future musician was born on April 8, 1972 in Los Angeles, where he spent his childhood. At the age of 13, Paul's family moved from Des Moines to Iowa. This is where the boy's talents begin to appear - Paul is fond of playing the bass guitar. Since Gray had no connections or acquaintances in the world of the music business, the future was seen as very illusory. But at one point, Paul Gray (photos are presented in the article) heard that a bass player was required in a musical group. This was the impetus, thanks to which the musician intensified his studies and began to persistently comprehend the basics of playing the guitar. According to the musician, he was inspired by such masters of rock as Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Les Claypool. Paul Gray boughtpacks of tutorials and quickly reached unprecedented heights in the game.

Career high point

In 1995, Slipknot formed. Paul Grey, Anders Colzefini and Sean Crahan became its founders. The musicians agreed that the group has its own rules: play what you want and how you want. The goal for future stars was to create music that had not yet been before them, and a spectacle that no one had ever seen anywhere else. And they succeeded, because Slipknot became a pioneer and gained many imitators from among the groups playing in this genre.

The rehearsal schedule and everything related to the creation of music in this group was quite specific and non-standard. Song runs were carried out secretly, and females could not be present at them. Slipknot musicians performed their performances in overalls, while it was forbidden to say the real names of the artists, each of which was assigned a serial number. Paul Gray was number 2.

Main Feature

In addition to his excellent guitar playing, the musician became famous for wearing a beaver or a pig mask for every performance. At the same time, it has changed with the release of each new album. In an interview, Paul Gray admits that he bought his pig mask not because he feels like this animal, it cost less than $2.

Despite all the strange behavior of the members, Slipknot has won many fans around the world. Soon their albums becomeplatinum, and songs are nominated for Grammy as the best among heavy metal and hard rock songs.

First drug case

World fame and big money most often negatively affect the lives of stars, and Paul Gray was no exception. In June 2003, the musician was arrested after a small accident that occurred in the city of Des Moines. The accident happened at 3:45 pm. The driver of another car tried to find out the causes of the accident, but Paul Gray could not answer anything clearly, but only tried to hand over a check saying that he would pay for everything. The victim realized that not everything was in order with the musician and called the police. The star had to be sent to the hospital, where tests showed that drugs were present in the musician's blood. Two bags of marijuana and cannabis were found in Gray's car.

Aftermath of the incident

Since there were no victims in the accident, the musician spent only a week in prison, and after paying a fine ($4300) he was released. In November, a state court found him guilty of drug use, awarded a $500 fine and one year's probation. Such a short period is due to the fact that the musician's attending physician assured the judge that Paul does not use drugs all the time, but only indulges in them occasionally. Subsequently, the musician was not noticed behind this passion, and, it would seem, life should have improved.

In 2008, Slipknot's fourth studio album was released, which won the first lines of all charts. In the same year, Paul Gray marries the star of the porn site GodsGirls, whose name is Brenna Paul. Thisthe marriage can be called successful, the musician even tattoos his wife's name on his fingers. And at the end of 2009, in his MySpace blog, the rock star writes that he is preparing to become a father. "This is the happiest news of my life," says Paul Grey.

Musician's funeral

May 24, 2010 around 10 p.m. Paul Gray was found dead by one employee of the hotel where the musician rented a room. The autopsy did not reveal any signs of violent death, so the body was sent for toxicological tests. Within a month, the whole world froze in anticipation of the results: why did Paul Gray die? The cause of death was an overdose of fentanyl and morphine, which led to cardiac arrest. As it turned out, the musician had been taking drugs for a long time, although he tried to hide it carefully. Pills and hypodermic needles were found near the body.

This message shocked many Slipknot fans, because most considered Paul Gray a great role model. After the funeral of the musician, the entire composition of the group held a press conference, at which the members were without their masks as a sign of respect for the deceased bassist. On August 17, 2010, Gray's widow gave birth to a daughter who, alas, will never see her father.

Murder allegations

Two years after the funeral of the musician, his attending physician is charged with manslaughter. Prosecutors allege that Daniel Baldy prescribed massive doses of painkillers to his patients. Paul Gray is not the only victim, eight of the doctor's patients have already died of an overdose. According to official records, since late December 2005, Baldy has been prescribing potent drugs to drug-addicted Grey. At the moment, there have been no such trials yet, and the doctor's fault is only indirect, but if the doctor is convicted, he faces a prison sentence of 16 years.

A few facts about the star

Despite the fact that Paul Gray passed away so early, his work will live on forever. The musician was a rather interesting and extraordinary person, as his biography confirms. He may have been influenced by his favorite films such as The Exorcist, The Shining, and Phantasm. But Gray's main passion was music. The musician considered Black Sabbath the best band, whose work had a huge impact on the bassist.