10 Tragic Deaths That Rocked The Music Industry

To any of the uninitiated, you'd probably expect the members of Slipknot to be the same raging animals that you see onstage every night. I mean, when you have someone who only goes by the name of Clown, you're not really looking at the most easygoing person in the world or anything. Even in a group as scary as the Knot though, Paul Gray always had the warmth of a teddy bear.

Outside of forming the band in the late '90s, Gray was always responsible for bringing the good times to Slipknot, often being the optimist on tour and being accommodating to every single fan he came across. With the life of fame comes drugs though, and Paul was never able to escape his demons at the worst of times.

Although Corey Taylor eventually managed to get sober on Vol. III The Subliminal Verses, Paul was outspoken about how hard it was kicking his drug habits, which ended with him relapsing and overdosing in a hotel room during some time off from the tour. While they're more camera friendly these days, the day after Paul's death marked the first press conference with every member of the Knot unmasked and willing to pay tribute to their brother. Even with V-Man holding down the low end in the band, we're always going to wonder what could have been had Paul lived to see the next album.