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Average Price: $109
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$80
$181+
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Description
Unleash your inner rockstar with the Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal, a must-have addition to any heavy metal guitarist's arsenal. This pedal is not just a tool, but a gateway to a new dimension of sound, pushing the boundaries of your music beyond the ordinary. Its massive boost and unmatched tone-shaping capabilities are what truly set it apart. Known for its distinctive character, the HM-2 has inspired numerous replicas, but nothing quite matches the original. Join the ranks of extreme metal players who have made this pedal an integral part of their sonic journey.
Key Features:
- Designed specifically for heavy metal music
- Provides a high level of boost for intense sound
- Exceptional tone-shaping capabilities
- Unique sound character that has inspired many imitators
- Preferred by a number of extreme metal players
Product specs
| Brand | Boss |
| Model | HM-2 Heavy Metal (Black Label) |
| Finish | Black |
| Year | 1983 - 1988 |
| Made In | Japan |
| Categories | Distortion Pedals, Overdrive and Boost Pedals |
FAQs
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What makes the Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal unique for metal music?
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The Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal is renowned for its distinctive "chainsaw tone," which is a defining sound in Swedish death metal. With all knobs maxed, it produces a gritty, aggressive distortion that has become iconic in the metal genre.
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Is the Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal suitable for genres other than metal?
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While the Boss HM-2 is famous for its metal tones, it also offers versatility for other genres. By adjusting the settings, it can deliver milder distortion suitable for shoegaze and other styles that benefit from its unique character.
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Can the Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal be used as a fuzz pedal?
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The Boss HM-2 is primarily a distortion pedal, but its tone can resemble fuzz when all controls are maxed out. This unique characteristic allows it to produce a thick, saturated sound that blurs the line between distortion and fuzz.
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What era is the Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal from?
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The Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal was manufactured from 1983 to 1988 in Japan. It remains a sought-after piece of gear due to its historical significance and unique sound profile.
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How does the Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal compare to other Boss distortion pedals?
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Unlike other Boss distortion pedals, the HM-2 offers a distinctive "chainsaw" tone that is particularly suited for metal and aggressive music styles. Its sound is more raw and gritty compared to the smoother tones of other models like the Boss DS-1.
Videos
Science of Loud
How To Use: Boss HM-2
How To Use: Boss HM-2
Science of Loud
Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal | Reverb Demo Video
Reverb
The Boss HM-2 - Heavy Metal - Settings and Comparison (no talking)
Guitar Bonedo
I bet you didn't know the Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal could DO THIS!
Johan Segeborn
Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal - HD Demo
ChoptonesOfficial
Talk with BOSS - #25 HM-2 Heavy Metal (Archive)
BOSSchannel
Reviews
PROS
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Iconic "chainsaw" and Swedish death metal tones
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Surprisingly versatile: from 80s rock to shoegaze
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Cuts through any mix powerfully
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Interactive EQ controls for wide tonal range
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Extremely durable, even survives floods
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Can achieve pleasant overdriven tones
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Works well for layering in music production
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Offers unique distortion tones beyond metal
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Effective for both guitar and metal bass sound
CONS
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Limited gain range, often used at full
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Can produce undesirable "screeching icepick" sounds
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Powering the pedal can be cumbersome
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Can be noisy, especially at high settings
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Not suited for genres outside lo-fi extreme metal
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Requires distorted amp for optimal performance
Owner Insights
We analyzed real musician discussions from forums and Reddit to find what players love, question, and tweak about Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal.
Setup and maintenance
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Vintage HM-2 pedals perform optimally with 12V ACA power, but using a 9V regulated power supply may lead to voltage starvation and diminished sound.
Source
Features and functionality
Mods and upgrades
User experience
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Some users prefer the sound of a "starved" HM-2, finding it suits their tonal preferences even if it deviates from the intended design.
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Owners appreciate the HM-2w for being more pedalboard-friendly due to its 9V power compatibility, unlike older models.
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Some users prefer the Custom mode exclusively, finding it superior and more versatile than the Standard mode for their needs.
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Users report that the MT-2 requires careful EQ adjustments to achieve desired tones, especially when used with a dirty amp.
Source
Use cases and applications
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Blending the HM-2w with a clean signal using a Boss LS-2 Line Selector Pedal provides a versatile range from subtle presence to intense distortion, especially for bass.
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The HM-2 is favored for playing black metal due to its darker tone, while the MT-2 is considered too bright for the genre.
Source
Comparisons
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The HM-2w's tonal versatility challenges the perception that it only excels at the "Swedish chainsaw" sound; many users find a variety of tones suitable for different musical styles.
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The HM-2's sound is more authentic to classic metal recordings, making it suitable for band settings with cranked amps.
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The Empress Heavy Menace is suggested for those seeking a balance between the brighter MT-2 and the darker HM-2 sounds, with an included noise gate.
Source
4.5 out of 5
Based on 22 Reviews and 102 Ratings
245
I don't think I have to say anything...
I mean, if you buy it, you KNOW what you're getting. That said, I'm not a fan of the whole "turn it all up to 11" shtick. This pedal offers so much more, and combined with a Noise Gate cross-wired, you can really taming to your personal liking. I usually have the Level and Distortion at 12 - depending on the setup - the bass on full and the high around 4. Crushing, yet not overpowering. Goes well with an already high-gain amp like the Marshall JCM900. Put a TS style pedal in the loop for more shape control.
387
Legendary for a reason
Despite being known as the sound of black metal, this pedal is incredibly versatile. Its EQ section can make some pretty bizarre tones aside from the Swedish Buzzsaw. Personally I love it as sort of a heavy overdrive, with Low EQ at 3:00, the high at 11:00 and the distortion at about 10:00. With those settings it makes a tremendous distortion for softer shoegaze tones.
Everyone knows how great this pedal sounds. What you might not know is that this is hands down the toughest pedal ever built. I bought mine back in 199x, the first distortion pedal I ever owned. Sometime in the early 2000s it was in a flood in my apartment. Despite being submerged for about 24 hours, I let it dry out for a couple of days, and it never lost a step. It’s the one pedal I can’t see ever coming off my board, both because I don’t think it will ever die, and because there’s no style of music it can’t handle.
232
Simply the best distortion ever
Unreal power in a box, this pedal provides the best distortion I've ever heard it has bottom, raw mids and chainsaw type highs. It needs 12v however you can use it along the dc out that the TU-3 provides it will work perfectly...
Preferred Settings + Usage:
Everything on 10!! Chainsaw Swedish Death metal all the way
1787
Swedish Buzzsaw
Dime everything. Get legendary tone.
But seriously, I use this for Doom/Stoner Metal, and believe it or not, don't actually crank everything to 11. You CAN do that, but if you tweak the colours, you get a really wild distortion that, when mixed with an Akai Phaser set to 270 degrees and a fast repeat, is ball-trippingly freaky.
Everyone should have one of these. Or the Berhinger clone, but it don't sound the exact same--you have been warned.
NASTY
RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW RAW
2423
excellent
lovely thick, heavy distortion - works really well with layering, actually.
Preferred Settings + Usage:
Level at noon, the first color knob all the way up, the 2nd color knob somewhere between noon and all the way up, dist knob all the way up.
Artist usage
Add artist
Used on his solo album About Face and Pink Floyd's A Momentary Lapse of Reason.
In a 1984 issue of Guitar Player Magazine, Gilmour said the following of his sound: "At the moment, the sound that I'm using a lot of the time is going through a Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal to a Boogie amplifier to a [MXR] DDL and then on into a regular Fender amplifier....I use a DDL on it...because I find it stops the fuzz box from from sounding like a fuzz box. It smoothes off the unpleasant, raw frequencies that you get from the fuzz box. Then you get a nice sort of sound.”
at 0:32 kevin can clearly be seen stomping on an HM-2. dunno why he took it off his board for currents era, probably explains why currents sucks tho lol
According to the lot notes from Bonhams auction house website, Eric Clapton used the Ibanez HD1000 Harmonics/Delay, a DBX 160 compressor, a model SDE-3000 Roland delay, a Dyno-My-Piano Tri Stereo Chorus, a Boss CE-1 chorus, and a Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal for his Bob Bradshaw rack system in the mid to late 1980s.
Rare shot of Johnny's pedalboard from the '86 Nottingham gig. The pedal case is a Boss BCB-6. From right to left is a PSM-5 followed by a GE-6, OD-2, TW-1, HM-2 and the CE-2 on the end. Below is a mock-up of the pedalboard.
According to engineer Susan Rodgers, Prince used a Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal in the studio.
Daron got the "black-orange heavy metal effect" (Boss HM-2) with 14 (1989), the editor mentioned Boss MT-2 wasn't even out at that time (release date was 1991). The "well known" fact, that Daron used a MT-2 at one point in his career is not true. Daron still uses the HM-2 at home for tracking new song ideas.
Lee Ranaldo is noted to have used a Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal, as mentioned in The Sonic Youth Gear Guide. It was reportedly replaced by a Boss DS-1 later that year.
In this video, Ola Englund demonstrates how to get a Swedish death metal tone with a Boss HM-2.
This trio are some of the most important elements of the live show. Bottom is an Elektron Monomachine; middle is a Behringer keyboard used to trigger sound effects, vocal samples, hits, sweeps and other 'ear candy' the band like to fire off on the fly, and top is the Roland Juno 106, routed through a guitar pedal. "They love that Boss Heavy Metal Distortion. It's kind of the signature sound in 'Chemical Beats'. You bosh that over the 106 and it just sounds filthy — a horrible, dirty, angry thing.”
"The gain /distortion sound went to a Boss HM-2, thats right Heavy Metal 2. He also added a BOSS OS-2 Overdrive/Distortion PEDAL and a Overdrive pedal, OD-1 both these pedals are yellow. After each of these he placed a Boss GE-7 Graphic Equalizer to shape the sounds of these pedals."
"Effects? Yes and no. Yes when we play live, but not really in the studio. Live, I go from the guitar into a powered Boss effects board, which has a Heavy Metal pedal, Overdrive, Chorus, Vibrato and a Flanger. I have the Chorus on nearly all the time, and I swap between the two different distortions. The vibrato and flanger I use as effects."
Album Usage
The Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal has been featured on the following albums:
Broken Wings (Gaudi Rework)
Mr. Mister & Gaudi (2025)
The Complete Demos (1988-1990)
Dismember (2023)
Stellar
Der Weg einer Freiheit (2015)
Beyond
Omnium Gatherum (2013)
Dismember
Dismember (2008)
The God That Never Was
Dismember (2006)
Where Ironcrosses Grow
Dismember (2004)
Hate Campaign
Dismember (2000)
Death Metal
Dismember (1997)
Black Earth (Reissue)
Arch Enemy (1996)
Massive Killing Capacity
Dismember (1995)
Slaughter Of The Soul
At the Gates (1995)
Indecent & Obscene
Dismember (1993)
Pieces
Dismember (1992)
Soulside Journey
Darkthrone (1991)
Like An Ever Flowing Stream (1991 Master)
Dismember (1991)
Like An Ever Flowing Stream
Dismember (1991)
Left Hand Path
Entombed (1990)
A Momentary Lapse of Reason
Pink Floyd (1987)
Welcome To The Real World
Mr. Mister (1985)
About Face
David Gilmour (1984)
Genre Usage
Based on how artists on Equipboard use this gear, it is most commonly found in the following genres.
Used With
Based on how musicians on Equipboard use Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal, it is most commonly used with the following gear.
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Community setups
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Similar
Add recommendation36 alternative and related items for Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal, curated by the Equipboard community.
$147.25 - $164.99
Official re-release: https://www.boss.info/global/products/hm-2w/
Produced from 1983 to 1991, the BOSS HM-2 Heavy Metal is a true legend in the history of distortion pedals. Its signature “chainsaw tone” with all knobs maxed is the defining voice of Swedish death metal, and the slightly milder sides of its personality can be heard on tracks from mainstream to shoegaze. After years of requests from hardcore HM-2 fans, the iconic stomp is now reborn three decades later in a special Waza Craft edition. The HM-2W delivers the authentic analog sound of the original in all its glory, coupled with lots of modern refinements for enhanced performance.
A DIY clone of the Boss HM-2, available as a complete kit or unpopulated PCB.
A boost pedal, that blends the "chainsaw" EQ of an HM-2 with all knobs at 10 into your existing rig.
Mimicing the HM-2 in color scheme and name, the Oliver HM-20 is a made under license, Brazilian copy of the HM-2.
$99.39 - $124.00
This should be removed. It is not a similar sounding item to the HM-2.
$45.95
The DOD American Metal is a very similar pedal which was released around the same time as the HM-2. As seen in the attached video, the two pedals sound functionally identical with both producing a "chainsaw" sound when maxed.
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