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."