According to the Des Moines Register, Slipknot bassist Paul Gray died of an accidental overdose of morphine and fentanyl. Polk County Medical Examiner Dr. Gregory Schmunk said that the two injected drugs were the cause of his death. It should be noted that fentanyl is a synthetic version of morphine. According to police reports, a hypodermic needle was near the bed in the hotel room where Gray was found dead on May 24.
The whole situation is sad. Between Avenged Sevenfold’s Rev and Gray, 2010 has already seen two of metal’s most popular acts suffer untimely losses and lives filled with promise cut short by drugs. While it’s tragic that Gray’s unborn child will grow up never having met its father, it’s even sadder for his bandmates, friends and family that forged a relationship with him for the past 38 years.
