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.

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

Contents

Background

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 the Marshall stacks. [2] Boss HM-2 is based on Boss DS-1. Despite achieving a moderate success in the glam metal scene, the pedal was discontinued in 1991; it was succeeded by Boss HM-3 Hyper Metal and Boss MT-2 Metal Zone, the latter of which became a commercial success and top-selling Boss pedal. [2]

Since its discontinuance, Boss HM-2 became 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 Boss 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 these settings to create his sound, and bands like Entombed, Dismember, and Bloodbath followed suit. Many Swedish bands have used the Boss 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]

Boss HM-2 with Boss MT-2. These pedals were used by Swedish melodic death metal bands like At the Gates and In Flames in the 1990s. BossDistortionPedals.jpg
Boss HM-2 with Boss MT-2. These pedals were used by Swedish melodic death metal bands like At the Gates and In Flames in the 1990s.
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 Boss MT-2 and Boss SD-1.

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

Control

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

Alex Hellid of Entombed in 2007 Entombed 01.jpg
Alex Hellid of Entombed in 2007
Ola Englund of The Haunted has used the Boss HM-2 and Boss HM-2W Ola Englund in Shanghai (cropped).jpg
Ola Englund of The Haunted has used the Boss HM-2 and Boss HM-2W

Notable users of the pedal include:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Entombed (band)</span> Swedish death metal band

Entombed is a Swedish death metal band formed in 1987 under the name of Nihilist. Entombed began their career as an early pioneer of Scandinavian death metal which initially differed from its American counterpart by its distinct "buzzsaw" guitar tone. However, by the early 1990s their sound had broadened to include garage rock and other influences. This new style would eventually be described as death 'n' roll. Entombed's main influences include bands such as Slayer, Celtic Frost, Repulsion, and Autopsy. Along with Dismember, Grave and Unleashed, Entombed has been referred to as one of the "big four" of Swedish death metal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dismember (band)</span> Swedish death metal band

Dismember is a Swedish death metal band formed in 1988. They split up in 2011 but reunited in 2019. Pioneers of Swedish death metal, Dismember is now considered one of the country's "big four", alongside Entombed, Grave, and Unleashed.

<i>Like an Ever Flowing Stream</i> 1991 studio album by Dismember

Like an Ever Flowing Stream is the debut album by Swedish death metal band Dismember, released in May 1991.

Swedish death metal is a death metal music scene developed in Sweden. Many Swedish death metal bands are associated with the melodic death metal movement, thus giving Swedish death metal a different sound from other variations of death metal. Unlike American death metal groups, the first Swedish bands were rooted in hardcore punk. Gothenburg has a large melodic death metal scene while Stockholm is known for its more raw death metal scene.

<i>Clandestine</i> (album) 1991 studio album by Entombed

Clandestine is the second studio album by Swedish death metal band Entombed, released on 12 November 1991 in Europe and on 11 February 1992 in North America. Along with Entombed's preceding album, Clandestine helped establish a distinctively Swedish sound in the death metal genre.

Boss is a manufacturer of effects pedals for electric guitar and bass guitar. It is a division of the Roland Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer that specializes in musical equipment and accessories. For many years Boss has manufactured a wide range of products related to effects processing for guitars, including "compact" and "twin" effects pedals, multi-effect pedals, electronic tuners and pedal boards. In more recent times, Boss expanded their product range by including digital studios, rhythm machines, samplers and other electronic music equipment. They also are now manufacturing solid-state amplifiers and speaker heads such as the Waza and the Katana. Both feature multi-effects units meant to emulate Boss' classic effects pedals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boss DS-1</span> Guitar effect pedal

The Boss DS-1 is a distortion pedal for guitar, manufactured by the Roland Corporation under the brand name Boss since 1978. The first distortion effects unit made by Boss, it has become a classic effect, used by many notable guitar players.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurt Ballou</span> Musical artist

Kurt Ballou is an American musician and producer based in Massachusetts, best known as the guitarist for hardcore punk band Converge and for his prolific recording and production work at his own GodCity Studio.

<i>Left Hand Path</i> (album) 1990 studio album by Entombed

Left Hand Path is the debut studio album by Swedish death metal band Entombed, released on 4 June 1990 by Earache Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabaton (band)</span> Swedish power metal band

Sabaton is a Swedish power metal band from Falun. The vast majority of their albums are written about historical events, mainly wars and significant battles. Sabaton has been referred to as one of the "big four" power metal bands, along with Helloween, Blind Guardian, and DragonForce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ibanez Tube Screamer</span> Guitar overdrive pedal

The Ibanez Tube Screamer (TS808/TS9) is a guitar overdrive pedal, made by Ibanez. The pedal has a characteristic mid-boosted tone popular with blues, rock and metal players. The Tube Screamer has been used by many guitarists to create their signature sound, and is one of the most successful, widely copied, and custom-modified ("modded") overdrive pedals in the history of the electric guitar.

<i>Wolverine Blues</i> 1993 studio album by Entombed

Wolverine Blues is the third studio album by Swedish death metal band Entombed, released on 4 October 1993 by Earache Records. The album displays a completely different sound from previous releases, combining elements of hard rock, heavy metal, and hardcore punk while still retaining much of their traditional, death metal roots, in a style that would later be known as death 'n' roll. The band also adopted a mid-tempo groove metal style for this release, similar to that of American band Pantera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pro Co RAT</span> Guitar distortion pedal

The Pro Co "The RAT" is a distortion pedal produced by Pro Co Sound. The original RAT was developed in the basement of Pro Co's Kalamazoo, Michigan facility in 1978. Numerous variations of the original RAT pedal are still being produced today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desultory</span> Swedish death metal band

Desultory was part of the first wave of Swedish death metal bands, alongside Entombed, Dismember, Unleashed and others. Into Eternity, their Metal Blade debut following a lesser-known EP release, is standard for the genre, energetic and forceful, straddling the line between the more brutal American death style and the melodic Gothenburg variety.

<i>Uprising</i> (Entombed album) 2000 studio album by Entombed

Uprising is the sixth full-length album by Swedish metal band Entombed. It was released in 2000. Album was recorded at Das Boot Studios and produced by Nico Elgstrand and Entombed. Musically, this album tones down the commercial alternative metal-stylings of Same Difference and returns to a heavier, more straight-forward death 'n' roll sound reminiscent of Wolverine Blues.

<i>Same Difference</i> (album) 1998 studio album by Entombed

Same Difference is the fifth studio album by Swedish metal band Entombed. It was released in 1998. This album shows the band moving into a more commercial sound and is generally considered the band's weakest moment both by fans and by the band's former vocalist, LG Petrov. This is the band's first album without original drummer and primary songwriter Nicke Andersson, who left Entombed to focus on his side project, The Hellacopters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trap Them</span> American hardcore punk band

Trap Them was an American hardcore punk band formed in Salem, New Hampshire in 2001. They released five studio albums and five EPs, including a split EP with Extreme Noise Terror.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Breath (band)</span> American heavy metal band

Black Breath is an American heavy metal band from Washington that formed in Bellingham in 2006 and later moved to Seattle. They play hardcore punk-influenced extreme metal. A key factor of their sound is the "Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal Pedal", which was popularized by bands such as Entombed, Dismember and Edge of Sanity in the early 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ola Englund</span> Swedish guitarist

Ola "The Swede" Englund is a Swedish guitarist, record producer, YouTuber, and the owner of Solar guitars. He is a founding-member of the band Feared, plays lead guitar in the Swedish metal band The Haunted, and is a former member of the band Six Feet Under. He has also been a part of Scarpoint, Facing Death, Subcyde and Sorcerer.

Victims were a Swedish hardcore punk band, originally hailing from Nyköping, at the end of their career they were based in Stockholm. The final line-up consisted of lead vocalist and bass player Johan Eriksson, drummer Andy Henriksson, guitar player, vocalist Jon Lindqvist and guitar player Gareth Smith.

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. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  3. 1 2 Astley-Brown, Michael. "Boss confirms an HM-2 Heavy Metal reissue is in the works". Guitar World . Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  4. ↑ Corfield, Chris. "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. ↑ Rotten Sound on Facebook
  9. ↑ Twitter
  10. 1 2 The Greatest Boss Metal Zone MT-2 Moments
  11. ↑ Instagram
  12. ↑ Greeves, David (Dec 2011). "Matt Cox: MIDI Tech for The Chemical Brothers". Sound On Sound. United Kingdom. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  13. 1 2 GEAR GODS RIGGED - Entombed A.D.
  14. 1 2 3 HM-2: The Sound of Swedish Death Metal and Beyond
  15. 1 2 3 SWEDISH DEATH METAL TONE
  16. ↑ Bloodbath: Blood Brothers
  17. ↑ Equipboard
  18. ↑ "Bassically Speacking: Ben Green, Godflesh". Bass Guitar : 15. February 2015. Archived from the original on 15 February 2016.
  19. ↑ Hawkins, Chris. "Interview: Alex Hellid of Entombed". antiheromagazine.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  20. 1 2 3 Boss HM-2
  21. ↑ BOSS HM-2W | The Legend Returns
  22. ↑ Dismember - Casket Garden (Robert Sennebäck Guitar Playthrough)
  23. ↑ Twitter
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