Slipknot

Slipknot bass player Paul Gray was found dead today in a motel room near Des Moines, Iowa. He was 38.

According to the article, the band has been on hiatus for a year. I thought they had split up before that, at least unofficially. I have their 2008 CD, “All Hope Is Gone.” But I thought they were pretty much not working together for the last few years, aside from making that CD — egos, personality clashes, etc.

Not that I’d know. I haven’t really been following news about the band. But they rock. I never cared one way or the other about their masks or stage antics or whatever. Their music rocks. Kills!

Phil Spector coined the term “wall of sound” in the 1960s. But that’s how Slipknot sounds to me. Nine band members, eight instrumentalists — I assume their vocalist, Cory Taylor, doesn’t play an instrument. A Wall of Metal. They're fuckin’ riveting!

When it comes to power and adrenaline and euphoria being channeled into music, Slipknot Rules! Pantera — whose last CD was in 2000 — is the only other band that rivals their power and drive and fury. IMHO.

Paul Gray — R.I.P.