As a founding member of Slipknot and a man widely regarded as the band's understated genius, Paul Gray's death on this day in 2010 shocked the metal world. It was the first time we'd seen Slipknot become truly vulnerable: that unstoppable, invincible-seeming band of nine brothers were now eight, and the Des Moines collective were forced to face up to having to continue their career without a man who had done as much to form the very essence of Slipknot's DNA as any other.
It wasn't just within the ranks of Slipknot that Paul Gray was a cherished figure, either. The bassist was beloved and admired right across the metal scene, not least by nu metal founding fathers and friends of the band, Korn, who once even invited Paul out on stage with them to jam a nu metal classic.
Paul's surprise appearance took place on August 19, 2006 on that year's Family Values tour - a stacked bill that included Korn, Deftones, Flyleaf, Dir En Grey and Paul's Slipknot bandmate Corey Taylor with Stone Sour - as the travelling one-day festival rolled into San Bernardino, California. Towards the end of a Korn set that had already witnessed cameos from Deftones' Chino Moreno for a cover of Ice Cube's Wicked and Filter frontman Richard Patrick for a take on Filter banger Hey Man, Nice Shot, Korn typically polished off their set with hallmark anthem Blind.
What wasn't typical, however, was the appearance of Paul Gray, who, donning his iconic Slipknot mask, strode on stage to jam the song that kickstarted nu metal, even taking part in a brief bass face-off with Fieldy!
Watch some footage of the iconic moment below. We miss you, Paul.
