Slipknot guitarist Jim Root defended his band in a recent interview over accusations that the group did not try to help bassist Paul Gray with his drug addiction that resulted in his death in 2010.
Gray's wife, Brenna, testified in April during the involuntary manslaughter trial of the doctor who treated her husband before his death that she reached out to members of Slipknot for help but received none. Root discussed Brenna's remarks with Sweden Rock Magazine, Blabbermouth reported.
"I think she's probably gonna say whatever it is she thinks she needs to say for the lawyers to hear," he said. "You know, I mean, Paul was our brother; Paul was very close to us. We tried putting Paul into treatment numerous times, we took him off of tours and we had interventions with him. I would stop by at Paul's house with my ex-girlfriend and he'd still be in bed."
Gray was found in a hotel room in Des Moines, Iowa, May 24, 2010. An autopsy report showed that the bassist had overdosed on a mixture of morphine and fentanyl, a synthetic substitute, according to the Associated Press.
Root went on to call Gray's addiction a "sickness" and assured that everyone in the band was concerned with his well-being: "At the end of the day, Paul was sick and Paul had a problem and we were there for Paul."
Daniel Baldi, Gray's doctor, initially faced nine counts of involuntary manslaughter, but that was lowered to seven before the jury was set to rule on the case. A verdict of "not guilty" was handed over in May, KCCI reported.
The band's first album without Gray, .5: The Gray Chapter, was released yesterday, Oct. 21.
