POLICE said a man found dead in an Iowa hotel room today was Paul Gray, bassist for the Grammy-nominated heavy metal band Slipknot, KCCI in Des Moines reported. Gray was 38 years old.

Gray was found around 10:50am local time at a Marriott hotel in Johnston, Iowa. Police said they saw no evidence of foul play. An autopsy and toxicology testing will be conducted today .

Slipknot have been nominated for Seven Grammy Awards for Best Metal Performance or Best Hard Rock Performance, and won Best Metal Performance in 2006 for the song Before I Forget. The nine-member band, formed in Des Moines in 1995, is known for performing in grotesque masks to conceal their identities.

Gray’s widow Brenna Paul is expecting his child in 2010.


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