Boss HM-2

Last updated
Boss HM-2
BossHM2HeavyMetal.jpg
Brand Boss
Manufacturer Roland Corporation
Dates1983—1991 (Original)
2020—present (Waza Craft)
Price$90 (Original launch)
Technical specifications
Effects type Distortion pedal
Controls
Pedal controlDistortion (Dist), highs (H), lows (L), output volume (level), standard and custom mode (Waza Craft)
Input/output
Inputsmono
Outputsmono
Metal song created with the Boss HM-2.

The Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal is a distortion pedal manufactured by Boss from October 1983 until October 1991. Designed to emulate a Marshall stack, it became associated with Swedish death metal and gained a cult following in the heavy metal scene.

Contents

Background

The Boss HM-2 was first issued in October 1983. It was originally manufactured in Japan from 1983 until 1988 and then in Taiwan from 1988 until 1991. [1] It was designed to emulate the mid-range response of a Marshall stack. [2] The HM-2 is based on Boss's DS-1. Despite achieving moderate success in the glam metal scene, the pedal was discontinued in 1991; it was succeeded by the HM-3 Hyper Metal and MT-2 Metal Zone, the latter of which became a commercial success and top-selling Boss pedal. [2]

Since its discontinuance, the HM-2 has become one of the most demanded pedals of the Boss back catalogue. [3] [1] [2] Guitarist and record producer Kurt Ballou has been cited as an influence for the pedal's resurgence [4] and bands such as Nails and Rotten Sound have also appropriated the pedal's sound for different extreme metal styles. [5]

In 2020, Boss Corporation president Yoshi Ikegami announced that the pedal would be reissued as a part of the Waza Craft pedal series under the name Boss HM-2W. For the reissue, the company also established a Facebook group to seek design feedback from the fanbase. [6] [5] The prototype of the HM-2W was tested by Ola Englund. The Waza Craft version added standard and custom mode to the Boss HM-2W.

Swedish death metal

Boss HM-2 with maximum settings (colloquially referred to as being "dimed"). These settings became well known in the Swedish death metal scene to achieve the "Chainsaw" tone. Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal.jpg
Boss HM-2 with maximum settings (colloquially referred to as being "dimed"). These settings became well known in the Swedish death metal scene to achieve the "Chainsaw" tone.

Leif Cuzner of Swedish death metal band Nihilist used the pedal with the controls "dimed," and bands like Entombed, Dismember, and Bloodbath followed suit. Many Swedish bands have used the HM-2 with a Peavey amp to achieve this sound. In the 1990s, the pedal attracted a cult following in the underground heavy metal scene due to its formative influence over the Swedish death metal sound. [7] Entombed's 1990 album, Left Hand Path , cemented its use in the scene. [6]

Anders Nyström of Bloodbath said, "The Boss HM-2 is the holy grail of death metal. There is no other pedal that has meant as much to this genre. It has been described as a chainsaw or a buzzsaw, and I think that’s a good comparison; it is a chainsaw formed into a guitar sound. How can you go further? How can you go beyond that? You can’t. It is the most essential sound in death metal of all time, and the bands who have adopted that were always going to be unbeatable in a sense. Other bands had outstanding performers and musicians, and kick-ass songs, but if they didn’t have that sound they were still sub-par in some way, and this pedal has meant everything." [8]

TC Electronic Eyemaster, a Boss HM-2 clone. TC Electronic Eyemaster.tiff
TC Electronic Eyemaster, a Boss HM-2 clone.

At the Gates's 1995 album, Slaughter of the Soul , combined the Boss HM-2 with a Boss MT-2 and Boss SD-1.

Many HM-2 pedals, especially ones made in Japan, have been collected by the guitarists of Entombed and Dismember.[ citation needed ]

Controls

According to Michael Astley-Brown of Guitar World , compared to the other distortion pedals, the pedal offered "radically versatile low and high ‘Color Mix’ EQ controls with 20 dB of boost/cut." [3]

Notable users

Notable users of the pedal include:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Boss shares images of new Waza HM-2W cosmetic prototype on Facebook". Gearnews. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "BOSS Cult Classics". rolandcorp.com.au. 11 January 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  3. 1 2 Astley-Brown, Michael (25 November 2020). "Boss confirms an HM-2 Heavy Metal reissue is in the works". Guitar World . Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  4. ↑ Corfield, Chris (15 October 2020). "The 10 coolest discontinued Boss pedals". Guitar World . Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 "Boss is bringing the HM-2 Heavy Metal back from the dead as a Waza Craft reissue – and it wants your design input". MusicRadar . Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  6. 1 2 Seah, Daniel. "Here's a First Look At The Boss Hm-2 Waza Craft Reissue". guitar.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  7. ↑ Schneider, David (September 28, 2019). "The Buzzsaw Riffs of the Stockholm Scene". Premier Guitar . Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  8. ↑ updated, Jonathan Horsleylast (2015-03-11). "Bloodbath's guide to death metal guitar". MusicRadar. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  9. ↑ Rotten Sound on Facebook
  10. ↑ "Interview Tomas Akvik of Lik". Moshville. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  11. ↑ "Erhan Alman of Heriot". Orange Amps . Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  12. ↑ Twitter
  13. 1 2 The Greatest Boss Metal Zone MT-2 Moments
  14. ↑ Instagram
  15. ↑ Greeves, David (Dec 2011). "Matt Cox: MIDI Tech for The Chemical Brothers". Sound On Sound. United Kingdom. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  16. 1 2 GEAR GODS RIGGED - Entombed A.D.
  17. 1 2 3 HM-2: The Sound of Swedish Death Metal and Beyond
  18. 1 2 3 SWEDISH DEATH METAL TONE
  19. ↑ Bloodbath: Blood Brothers
  20. ↑ Equipboard
  21. ↑ Baines, Huw (23 March 2023). "Introducing Heriot – the genre-agnostic saviours of British metal". Guitar.com . Archived from the original on 1 August 2023. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  22. ↑ "Bassically Speacking: Ben Green, Godflesh". Bass Guitar : 15. February 2015. Archived from the original on 15 February 2016.
  23. ↑ Hawkins, Chris (6 June 2019). "Interview: Alex Hellid of Entombed". antiheromagazine.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  24. ↑ Dome Official Youtube Channel
  25. 1 2 3 Boss HM-2
  26. ↑ BOSS HM-2W | The Legend Returns
  27. ↑ "Effects, Swedish Death Metal, the Power of the HM2 Pedal, Jazz, and so much more!". Nine Circles. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  28. ↑ Dismember - Casket Garden (Robert Sennebäck Guitar Playthrough)
  29. ↑ SVARTKONST – MAY THE NIGHT FALL
  30. ↑ Twitter
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