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. 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 Billboards 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. Narducci had in fact been friends with Locicero since the age of 15 and the two bonded through a common passion for heavy metal. The new group officially named itself Spiralarms and played their first concert together at The Pound in San Francisco on June 5. Referring to himself as Manmade God's new frontman, Narducci explained, "We changed our name due a number of reasons, mostly political, but most importantly the sound. . . It's much different then what those guys [Manmade God] were doing before and much different even for myself." He also enthusiastically reported to have written sixteen complete songs with his new band. In 2010, Spiralarms released their debut album, Highest Society, and intend to release their second album, Freedom, in Feb-March 2013.
In early 2005, Jacobs suffered a shoulder injury that necessitated his removal from the group. By 2007, Locicero would be the only ex-Manmade God member to remain in Spiralarms and would also be back with the reunited Forbidden. Spiralarms would now include drummer Chris Kontos (ex-Machine Head and Testament), bassist Chris Lombardom, and keyboardist Brad Barth.