Slipknot: Paul 'the Pig' Gray remembered

The arrival of Slipknot in 1999 represented a new chapter in metal. And now the sudden death at the age of 38 of their bassist Paul Gray, one of the band's three founding members, signals the end of the Iowan band's classic lineup.

Taking the basic tenets of the genre – alienation, nihilism, escapism, theatrics – and exaggerating and amplifying them to absurd new levels, Slipknot made metal darker, dafter and, against all odds, made it more mainstream with Grammy-award winning albums.

LA-born Gray was key to Slipknot's development and success. Relocating to Des Moines, Iowa, as a child, the seeds of the band were planted by Gray in 1992 when, having played in bands such as Vexx, Body Pit, Anal Blast and Inveigh Catharsi, he started a group with percussionist Shawn Crahan. By 1995 they had morphed into the Pale Ones, then Meld, and finally, with addition of drummer Joey Jordison, Slipknot. Expressing a desire to remain anonymous to allow their music to develop, Slipknot wore masks, variations of which they still use.

Gray chose the pig mask, a persona that perhaps best reflected the band's emerging overall aesthetic – that of outsiders from a largely rural, farming-based state a million metaphorical miles from New York and Los Angeles. The band played on the imagery of middle American bogeymen such as Ed Gein or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's Leatherface. Their image was supported by rabble-rousing live shows and music that was so heavy it unsurprisingly found favour with fans of Slayer and Pantera.

In a band of extreme and contrasting characters, Gray was recognisable as a core, if occasionally, errant member. While the confrontational – and occasionally hilarious – singer Corey Taylor and his bandmates were happy to hog the mic to get their message across, to the fans and press "The Pig" was more enigmatic, seeming happier on stage behind his ever-changing mask than talking into tape recorders "Slipknot is my life," he said in a rare interview. "It's everything. Without Slipknot I'd probably be sleeping on someone's couch, working at the old bar I used to work at."

He also admitted a fondness for the type of hedonism associated with rock bands. In 2003 he was arrested for possession of cocaine and marijuana paraphernalia after crashing his Porsche and trying to write a cheque for $1,000 to the driver of the other car. His leaked mugshot provided a then-rare unmasked sighting of a Slipknot member.

Gray was well-liked by both the band and the metal community, as indicated by his appearance in Roadrunner Records supergroup Roadrunner United, alongside members of Sepultura, Fear Factory and Deicide. Slipknot fans have continually cited him as an inspiration in taking up music, while more recently he played in a band called Hail! alongside members of Judas Priest and Sepultura.

Slipknot's last album, 2008's All Hope Is Gone reached No 1 and No 2 in the US and UK charts respectively.