Boss HM-2
{{Short description|Distortion pedal}}
{{Infobox effects unit
| name = Boss HM-2
| image = {{CSS image crop
|Image = BossHM2HeavyMetal.jpg
|bSize = 240
|cWidth = 200
|cHeight = 275
|oTop = 25
|oLeft = 20
|Location = center
}}
| image_size =
| image_caption =
| brand = Boss
| manufacturer = Roland Corporation
| distributor =
| dates = 1983—1991 (Original)
2020—present (Waza Craft)
| price = $90 (Original launch)
| effects_type = Distortion pedal
| hardware =
|inputs=mono|outputs=mono|pedal_control=Distortion (Dist), highs (H), lows (L), output volume (level), standard and custom mode (Waza Craft)}}
File:HM-2 by Pato Fuentealba - Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal Pedal song.ogg
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.
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. It was designed to emulate the mid-range response of a Marshall stack. 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.
Since its discontinuance, the HM-2 has become one of the most demanded pedals of the Boss back catalogue. Guitarist and record producer Kurt Ballou has been cited as an influence for the pedal's resurgence and bands such as Nails and Rotten Sound have also appropriated the pedal's sound for different extreme metal styles.
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. 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
File:Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal.jpg
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. Entombed's 1990 album, Left Hand Path, cemented its use in the scene.
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."{{Cite web |last=updated |first=Jonathan Horsleylast |date=2015-03-11 |title=Bloodbath's guide to death metal guitar |url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/bloodbaths-guide-to-death-metal-guitar-617642 |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=MusicRadar |language=en}}
File:TC Electronic Eyemaster.tiff 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|date=February 2024}}
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."
Notable users of the pedal include:
[https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089078764835 Rotten Sound on Facebook]
- Tomas Åkvik{{Cite web |title=Interview Tomas Akvik of Lik |url=https://www.moshville.co.uk/interview/2018/05/interview-tomas-akvik-of-lik/ |access-date=20 May 2018 |website=Moshville}}
- Erhan Alman{{Cite web |title=Erhan Alman of Heriot |url=https://orangeamps.com/artist/heriot/ |access-date=12 June 2024 |website=Orange Amps}}
- Michael Amott[https://twitter.com/Michael_Amott/status/802174739464724481?s=19 Twitter]
- Anders Björler[https://www.musicradar.com/news/greatest-boss-metal-zone-moments The Greatest Boss Metal Zone MT-2 Moments]
- David Blomqvist
- Justin Broadrick
- Uffe Cederlund[https://www.instagram.com/p/CbaKiw5oY2f/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA Instagram]
- The Chemical Brothers (with a Juno-106)
- Leif “Leffe” Cuzner
- Nico Elgstrand[https://youtube.com/watch?v=lSRkd7ui8tA GEAR GODS RIGGED - Entombed A.D.]
- Niclas Engelin[https://articles.boss.info/hm-2-the-sound-of-swedish-death-metal-and-beyond/ HM-2: The Sound of Swedish Death Metal and Beyond]
- Ola Englund[https://youtube.com/watch?v=-MdH7JWkSxA SWEDISH DEATH METAL TONE]
- Per Eriksson[https://www.loudersound.com/features/bloodbath-blood-brothers Bloodbath: Blood Brothers]
- Euronymous[https://images.equipboard.com/uploads/source/image/63553/a1b0d1b9ab19accfe5ea60817a78e89f--black-metal-musical-instruments.jpg Equipboard]
- David Gilmour
- Debbie Gough{{Cite web |last=Baines |first=Huw |date=23 March 2023 |title=Introducing Heriot – the genre-agnostic saviours of British metal |url=https://guitar.com/features/interviews/heriot-new-single-demure/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801162346/https://guitar.com/features/interviews/heriot-new-single-demure/ |archive-date=1 August 2023 |access-date=2023-08-01 |website=Guitar.com |language=en-GB}}
- G. C. Green
- Alex Hellid
- Dominik "Dome" Helmuth[https://youtube.com/DomeNightbearer Dome Official Youtube Channel]
- Christofer Johnsson[https://guitariste-metal.fr/boss-hm-2-pedal/amp/ Boss HM-2]
- Todd Jones
- Martin Larsson
- Glenn Ljungström
- Rabea Massaad[https://youtube.com/watch?v=6Ro4wJBykog&pp=ygUPQm9zcyBobTJ3IHJhYmVh BOSS HM-2W | The Legend Returns]
- Guilherme Miranda
- Anders Nyström
- David Parland
- Niklas Sandin{{Cite web |title=Effects, Swedish Death Metal, the Power of the HM2 Pedal, Jazz, and so much more!|url=https://ninecircles.co/2020/10/01/liks-niklas-sandin-on-new-album-misanthropic-breed-pandemic-effects-swedish-death-metal-the-power-of-the-hm2-pedal-jazz-and-so-much-more/ |access-date=1 October 2020 |website=Nine Circles}}
- Mike Schleibaum
- Robert Sennebäck[https://youtube.com/watch?v=okS0_erLEZo Dismember - Casket Garden (Robert Sennebäck Guitar Playthrough)]
- Tomas Skogsberg
- Jesper Strömblad
- Dan Swanö
- Rickard Törnqvist[https://obliveon.de/review/svartkonst-may-the-night-fall/ SVARTKONST – MAY THE NIGHT FALL]
- Kristian Wåhlin
- Justin York[https://twitter.com/jyplaysguitar/status/371043330219839488?t=A-LQRmMWCWupp28QHFPoSw&s=19 Twitter]
- Kurt Ballou{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}
- Bilinda Butcher [https://guitar.com/rig-diagrams/rig-diagram-bilinda-butcher-my-bloody-valentine-1991/]
- Nocturno Culto
{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}
- Hamish Glencross{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}
- James Sedwards{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}
- Lee Ranaldo [http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/eq/fx.html]
See also
References
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
{{cite journal | url=http://www.bassguitarmagazine.com/news/ben-green-of-godflesh-on-bass/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160215222902/http://www.bassguitarmagazine.com/news/ben-green-of-godflesh-on-bass/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=15 February 2016 | title=Bassically Speacking: Ben Green, Godflesh | journal=Bass Guitar | date=February 2015 | pages=15}}
{{cite web |last1=Corfield |first1=Chris |title=The 10 coolest discontinued Boss pedals |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/features/the-10-coolest-discontinued-boss-pedals |website=Guitar World |date=15 October 2020 |access-date=May 31, 2021}}
{{cite web |last1=Astley-Brown |first1=Michael |title=Boss confirms an HM-2 Heavy Metal reissue is in the works |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/news/boss-confirms-an-hm-2-heavy-metal-reissue-is-in-the-works |website=Guitar World |date=25 November 2020 |access-date=May 31, 2021}}
{{cite web |title=Boss is bringing the HM-2 Heavy Metal back from the dead as a Waza Craft reissue – and it wants your design input |url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/boss-is-bringing-the-hm-2-heavy-metal-back-from-the-dead-as-a-waza-craft-reissue-and-it-wants-your-design-input |website=MusicRadar |access-date=May 31, 2021}}
{{cite web |last1=Schneider |first1=David |title=The Buzzsaw Riffs of the Stockholm Scene |url=https://www.premierguitar.com/the-buzzsaw-riffs-of-the-stockholm-scene |website=Premier Guitar |access-date=May 31, 2021 |date=September 28, 2019}}
}}
External links
{{wikiquote}}
{{commons category|BOSS HM-2 Heavy Metal}}
- {{official website|url=www.boss.info/global/products/hm-2w/}}
{{Roland Corporation}}