Downthesun (stylised in lowercase) was an American nu metal band formed in Kansas City, Missouri in 1999. The group was known for their abrasive and heavy sound as well as their association with Slipknot. Downthesun was the only act signed to Slipknot's short-lived record label, Maggot Corps. The group released one studio album, 2002's Downthesun, before breaking up in 2004. They briefly reunited in 2010 and have been inactive since 2011. History Formation and early years (1999–2001) Downthesun was formed by bassist Lance "Kuk" Collier and keyboardist Nathan Church, who were in a local Kansas City rap metal band called Canvas. Canvas played a variety of battle-of-the-bands shows in the area, and while they never won, they were able to secure a slot as an opener for Slipknot. This led to Collier and Church meeting Slipknot percussionist Shawn "Clown" Crahan, who introduced them to drummer Danny Spain and vocalist Anthony "Satone" Stevens, who had previously worked as a drum technician for Crahan. Collier and Church soon left Canvas due to the band wanting to change its sound away from metal. The band then added vocalist Aaron Peltz and guitarist Bruce Swink to the lineup, before eventually settling on the name downthesun. In October 2001, they became the first signing to Slipknot's newly created Maggot Recordings label (later renamed Maggot Corps.), which was owned by London-Sire Records, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. downthesun (2001–2002) Between May and June 2001, the band recorded their self-titled debut album in six weeks at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, with producer GGGarth, with Shawn Crahan acting as executive producer. The record was completed in December, with Crahan helping with the artwork. Prior to recording the album's guitar tracks, the band's original guitarist broke his hand after punching a wall while drunk. Subsequently, Lance Collier contacted Ultraspank guitarist Neil Godfrey to record the album's guitar tracks. While he was almost made a permanent member of the band, Godfrey left to join Lo-Pro (featuring Ultraspank bandmate Pete Murray) and Motograter. Downthesun then recruited Bruce Swink to handle guitar duties during live shows. The band planned on releasing the album in early February 2002, but its scheduled release plan was shelved around November 2001, during which time London-Sire Records was beginning to close. In January 2002, the label, and subsequently Maggot Corps., collapsed, which forced the band to drop off a planned tour of Europe with Slipknot.