HM-2 Heavy Metal
The buzzsaw that built Swedish death metal - max all knobs for the Entombed chainsaw.
Produced from 1983 to 1991, the HM-2 was originally designed for 80s hard rock and heavy metal. Then Entombed cranked all four knobs to maximum on Left Hand Path (1990) and accidentally invented a genre.
The circuit runs on a 12V ACA adapter (not the standard 9V PSA) and uses an unusual Color Mix EQ section instead of a traditional tone stack. Two knobs labeled 'H' and 'L' control high and low Color Mix frequencies, creating a scooped yet aggressive midrange void that, at full blast, produces the infamous chainsaw buzz.
Distortion and Level round out the four controls. Below noon on the Color Mix knobs, the HM-2 actually does respectable 80s metal tones. But nobody cares about that. Everyone wants the full-crank Swedish death metal sound: all knobs at 10, into a cranked amp, preferably tuned to B.
Entombed, Dismember, Bloodbath, and the entire Stockholm death metal scene ran on HM-2s. Discontinued in 1991, it became one of the most sought-after Boss pedals, with prices climbing until Boss reissued it as the HM-2W Waza Craft in 2022.
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