Manmade God were an American hard rock band from Oakland, California. They gained prominence in 2003, touring with various mainstream acts and releasing one self-titled album in late summer. They disbanded the following year, however, with the departure of their vocalist and an apparent split with their record label, which was American Recordings.
History
Early years (2001–2002) Formed upon the hiatus of Forbidden in 2001, Manmade God featured both its guitarist Craig Locicero and drummer Steve Jacobs. The new project was joined by bassist James Walker and filled out when Locicero came across a newspaper ad by Pann, a singer on the verge of ending his attempts at music success. The guitarist reflected, "Before Pann joined, we were more of a finger painting experiment; it never felt like a band. Pann just made all the difference, having direction and emotion."
Within two weeks of formation, Manmade God debuted at the Boomerang Club and played elsewhere in the San Francisco Bay area. They soon met Stone Temple Pilots drummer Eric Kretz who was impressed enough to produce their 3-song demo. While playing, the group soon realized they were not ready to showcase for major labels yet and continued recording. Their material caught the attention of Brian Joseph Dobbs who helped record their next demo at The Plant Studios in Sausalito, California.
According to Locicero, "Every management company wanted us; major labels were knocking themselves over to get to us." The demos with Dobbs gained response from American Recordings and prompted a private showcase with label head Rick Rubin. Manmade God signed into American in October 2002 and soon began working on their self-titled debut with Dobbs as producer and Rubin as executive producer.
Manmade God (2003–2004) The band toured heavily the following year, playing alongside doubleDrive in spring. Throughout the summer, Manmade God toured across the US with established acts such as Adema, Powerman 5000, Ra, Spineshank, Taproot, and Type O Negative.
Initially set for a July 29 release, Manmade God finally hit shelves on August 26, 2003. Locicero alleged years later that the delay was because the head of both Columbia and Island Records had "turned out" during the recording of Manmade God.
The album gained both positive and mixed reception; Robert L. Doerschuk of AllMusic offered a 3/5 rating and proclaimed, "Throughout their eponymous album, they hammer and thrash with a ponderous intensity. This has been familiar territory since Led Zeppelin trashed its first private jet." IGN's Dave Doray gave a meager 5/10 rating, noting how it "just doesn't introduce us to anything new" while comparing the vocals to Chris Cornell and bass to Tim Commerford. However, positive response was given to the musical interplay on various tracks. Melodic.net and MetalSucks.net offered stronger support with the latter calling it "tremendous" and describing Pann's vocal performance as "a soulful, gritty version of Filter's Richard Patrick."
Manmade God was compared stylistically to classic groups like The Doors, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath. It was frequently said to have drawn heavily from the more contemporary grunge bands Soundgarden and Stone Temple Pilots. The album boasted one single, "Safe Passage", which reached No. 36 on the Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks.
In December, the band headlined KSJO's Homegrown concert at The Edge in Palo Alto. Eric Kretz stood in for an allegedly injured Steve Jacobs for half of the show where Pann expressed to the crowd his disenchantment with the band's lack of exposure, spouting, "You guys are the first to know who we are, 'cause no one knows who we are." In addition to performing nearly every track from their debut album, Manmade God also played a new song entitled "Awakening" which Pann wryly noted would be on the band's next record if they make it that far.
Manmade God toured into the following year but continued experiencing turbulence with their label. While performing with SOiL in March, the band's touring support was pulled, further frustrating its members.
Disestablishment and formation of Spiralarms
Having their touring support removed proved to be the last straw when, a week later, Reed left Manmade God. In a 2011 interview, Locicero reflected that, despite its promising future, Manmade God was "a victim of bad timing" because of label issues causing their album's delay.
Locicero added that while his decision may not have been the right one at the time, it allowed him to work on other projects in the future that Manmade God would have prevented.