Slipknot remembers late bassist Paul Gray

A year after Slipknot bassist Paul Gray’s accidental death, drummer Joey Jordison has expressed his grief in an open letter he released earlier today. Gray was found dead in his hotel room from an accidental drug overdose last May.

“Paul, you always told it like it was,” the letter said. “You’re the same guy that wouldn’t let me stay home on New Year’s Eve back in 1992, and once drove over in four feet of snow during a storm, just to hang out! There was no one like you. That’s why you were my best friend.”

“All the music that we’ve done together, all the times that we’ve shared, will live on forever. I miss you each and every day. There will never be another #2. I love you.”

Jordison also thanked the fans.

“And to all my friends, the Maggots: I just wanted to take a moment to thank you eternally for your support on this difficult day. You’re keeping us and Paul’s memory alive … This is a horrible thing that happened, but each of you has made this just a little bit easier to deal with. Your support means everything to us.”

The rest of the band members are also still shaken by this event, and said the band’s upcoming European tour dates—the first without Gray—will be the most emotional performances ever.

Percussionist Shawn Clown Crahan said the sentiments will begin even before he starts to play.

“It’ll be a very, very serious place to be,” he told Bare Bones Music. “I’ll be in tears before I hit the first stair. I need that very much—we all need it. So I’m looking forward to it, but it’s going to be very hard.”

“These will be the biggest and most emotional shows we’ve ever had,” Jordison said.

Singer Corey Taylor looks at the new tour dates as a step in the healing process.

“To me, it’s gonna be about letting the fans share in the celebration of Paul,” he told Metal Injection. “To me, that’s what it’s really about. And we’ve got a lot to celebrate—he and Clown started this band, he was the mastermind behind some of its best music, and to me, I’m just proud that I got to be in a band with him. So I’m happy to be a part of that celebration.”

Former Slipknot guitarist Donnie Steele is currently set to replace Gray in the upcoming shows, but no word has been released about who will replace him on a new album, or if there will even be a new album.

“I definitely want a new Slipknot record. I personally have, I don’t know, probably over 17 songs ready,” Jordison said.

However, Crahan isn’t as enthisiastic. “I’m not a fortune teller so I can’t promise anybody anything,” he said. “Do I want a record? Yes. Do I know if it’ll happen? I don’t know.”