A few days ago it was officially reported from toxicology testings that the death of Avenged Sevenfold drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan on December 28, 2009 was because of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. The cause of Paul Gray's death on May 24, 2010 however, is still being investigated. Paul Gray known as #2 or "The Pig" was one of the founding members of Slipknot.
A paragraph from a Rolling Stone article by Jon Wiederhorn on Jimmy Sullivan's death;
Toxicology reports indicate that Sullivan suffered "acute polydrug intoxication due to combined effects of Oxycodone, Oxymorphone, Diazepam/Nordiazepam and ethanol.
Oxycodone is painkiller that substitutes for Codeine, Oxymorphone is a painkiller similar to Morphine, Diazepam/Nordiazepam are anxiety medications and ethanol is the intoxicant in alcohol. Actor Heath Ledger similarly died from acute polydrug intoxication on January 22, 2008. Sigal added that Sullivan also had cardiomegaly (an enlarged heart), which was marked in the coroner's report as a "significant condition" that may have played a role in the drummer's death. The Coroner's Department conducted "five or six" different tests to verify the cause of death, Sigal added.
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An Associated Press report on Paul Gray's death;
Fans of Avenged Sevenfold were somewhat happy and relieved that the band has decided to continue on with Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy in the drummer's seat for the band's next album Nightmare, set to be released on July 27, 2010. Mike Portnoy, a man looked up by The Rev and undoubtedly one of the best drummers in the world today, was more than happy to pick up where The Rev left off.
