Slipknot Bassist Paul Gray Found Dead

No signs of foul play as Paul Grey, 38, discovered in Iowa hotel room; autopsy set for Tuesday

Tragedy has rocked Slipknot.

The metal band known for its freaky masks and doom-and-gloom songs is mourning the death of bassist Paul Gray.

The 38-year-old musician, who also went by the stage monikers "#2" and "The Pig," was found dead Monday in a hotel room in Urbandale, Iowa, a suburb of the Grammy-winning group's native Des Moines.

Police say foul play isn't suspected. The medical examiner has an autopsy scheduled for Tuesday.

"Paul Gray was an awesome person on and off stage. He will be missed by many including myself," Papa Roach frontman Jacoby Shaddix said in a statement. "His spirit will live on through the killer music he wrote."

Gray was arrested on suspicion of cocaine and marijuana possession in 2003, an incident less noted for the implication that the rocker had drug issues and more so for the fact that his mugshot was one of the rare photos available of a Slipknot member's actual face.

At the time of his death, the L.A.-born Gray, whose family moved to the eventual Slipknot stomping grounds of Des Moine, was one of only three members of the existing band who were there at its inception. The others are Shawn "Clown" Crahan and Joey Jordison.

Slipknot has collected seven Grammy nominations over the years, winning in 2006 for Best Metal Performance for "Before I Forget."

(Originally published May 24, 2010, at 2:56 p.m. PT)