The Absolute Best Metal Pedals of 2024

When it comes to metal, you want something that is loud, disruptive, and in your face. Fortunately, there is no short supply of distortion pedals that can meet those needs. Here are the best metal pedals to inspire your playing.

IN THIS REVIEW

The Best Metal Pedal
Our Favorite Metal Pedal
The Top 8 Metal Pedals
Best Metal Pedal Review
Best Budget Pedals
1. JHS ProCo Rat 2 Distortion Pedal
2. MXR M75 Super Badass Distortion
Best Mid-Range Pedals
3. Fender Pugilist Distortion
4. Fulltone OCD Obsessive Compulsive Drive Pedal
5. EarthQuaker Devices Acapulco Gold V2
6. Boss DS-1X Distortion
Best Premium Pedals
7. KHDK Dark Blood
8. Amptweaker TightMetal Jr
How To Pick A Metal Pedal
What Is Distortion?
What To Look For In A Metal Pedal
Overall Top Distortion Pedal For Metal
Common Questions
Conclusion

As we said, there is no shortage of pedals for metal guitarists. The problem is choosing which one is right for you. Are there pedals made specifically for metal? Should you just get a classic rock distortion pedal? Overdrive? Fuzz? Auuggghhh!

Maybe that is a little dramatic, but you get the idea. There are a ton of options and it's really easy to catch a case of analysis paralysis. That's where we come in. We have reviewed 8 of the best metal pedals on the market today.

We do the heavy (metal) lifting so you can get back to playing.

The Best Metal Pedal

If you're impatient like we are, you can skip the rest of the list and just get straight to our top pick.

Our Favorite Distortion Pedal For Metal

Again, our top pick for best metal pedal is the KHDK Dark Blood. This is THE signature pedal of Kirk Hammett of Metallica. He is one of the icons of metal and his pedal will give you the tone and aggressive edge you're looking for.

Best Budget Metal Pedal

MXR M75 Super Badass Distortion (if MXR distortion is good enough for Randy Rhoads, it's good enough for me)

Best Distortion Pedal For Classic Rock

A wide range of artists from various genres have used the Boss DS-1X Distortion.

The Top 8 Metal Pedals

Best Budget Pedal
1. JHS ProCo Rat 2 Distortion Pedal
2. MXR M75 Super Badass Distortion

Best Mid-Range Pedal
3. Fender Pugilist Distortion
4. Fulltone OCD Obsessive Compulsive Drive Pedal
5. EarthQuaker Devices Acapulco Gold V2
6. Boss DS-1X Distortion

Best Premium Pedal
7. KHDK Dark Blood
8. Amptweaker TightMetal Jr

Best Metal Pedal Review

As you can see, we've split this list into three categories; Best Budget Pedal, Best Mid-Range Pedal, and Best Premium Pedal.

Best Budget Pedal

1. JHS ProCo Rat 2 Distortion Pedal

Description:

You've heard some of the all-time greats use a Rat pedal; James Hetfield, Dave Grohl, David Gilmore, Jeff Beck, just to name a few. You can get that same aggressive growl for a great price.

Versatility

The Rat is known for making a huge rock sound. What gives it it's iconic tone? It is a mix of distortion and fuzz; with it being a little heavier on the fuzz side.

Tube Amp Buddy

One of the awesome features of this pedal is that, while it is a distortion pedal, it works with your amp similar to how an overdrive pedal would work.

It has the ability to push your amp to it's limit and give you that distorted crunch you need when playing metal. You can't beat a pedal with this kind of sound, especially for under $100.

Pros

can't beat the bargain basement price
versatile OD style sound to Heavy/Fuzz

Cons

some reports of a hum when in use

2. MXR M75 Super Badass Distortion

Description:

MXR is no stranger to the effects pedal game. You can almost always find the sound and tone you want for a killer price. And this MXR M75 Super Badass Distortion lives up to its name and the MXR reputation.

3-Band EQ & More

This unit features a five button setup with a fully tweakable 3-band EQ. You can control exactly how much bass, mids, and treble is coming through using their individual rotary knobs.

In addition to those you also have a distortion knob and an output knob. The distortion knob essentially increases the amount of gain you have in your signal. The output is a level control to increase or decrease your volume.

True Bypass

You don't want any distortion leaking through unless you intend for it to. This pedal features true bypass which means when the pedal is disengaged, your signal truly bypasses the distortion making circuitry.

Pros

3-band EQ control
fits any budget

Cons

volume can be touchy

Best Mid-Range Pedal

3. Fender Pugilist Distortion

Description:

Fender has really upped their game in recent years with their offerings of a variety of effects pedals. The Fender Pugilist gives you a ton of control over your sound and tone. You will not be disappointed.

Dual Gain Stages

The really unique feature of this pedal is the dual gain stages, each with their own gain control. The pedal takes your input signal and then each channel or tone, as they are labeled, processes it differently; one side having a lower gain level than the other.

Each tone has it's own gain control knob so you can really dial in the perfect sound.

Blend It

Another cool feature is the series/blend switch. This is where you control the behavior of the dual gain stage signals. In series mode the output has both stages stacked on top of each other. You can then use the level knob to increase or decrease the output.

Flip over into blend mode and you now have both signals mixed together. Using the additional blend knob, you can control how much of each tone is in the output mix. Turn the knob all the way counter clockwise for more of Tone A or crank it all the way clockwise for Tone B.

Everything You Need

This bundle not only comes with the Fender Pugilist Distortion pedal but it also includes a 10' Fender Performance Series Angled Instrument Cable and two Fender 6" patch cables. This is everything you need as a standalone effects pedal or to add it into your existing pedal board signal chain.

Pros

total control of your sound
bass boost switch for a little extra oomph
series/blend switch gives you a lot of flexibility in your sound

Cons

4. Fulltone OCD Obsessive Compulsive Drive Pedal

Description:

Fulltone is a boutique guitar and bass effects company. All of the pedals and effects they offer are designed by the founder, Michael Fuller. Their pedals have great tone and each feature the Fulltone exclusive Enhanced Bypass mode.

3-Knob Simplicity

The 3-knob setup on the Fulltone OCD pedal is really intuitive and easy to use. The labels are pretty self explanatory.

Volume controls your level. Drive is going to increase or decrease your level of gain and give you the distortion sound. Tone is what really adds some color to your sound.

Enhanced Bypass

This pedal has an internal switch that allows you to toggle between true bypass and something called enhanced bypass. Enhanced bypass is somehow not influenced by the effects of any other successive pedals within your chain.

This means you can place the OCD anywhere in your effects chain.

Pros

built like a tank
can go anywhere in the effects chain when in Enhanced Bypass mode

Cons

reports of slight buzzing

5. EarthQuaker Devices Acapulco Gold V2

Description:

EarthquakerDevices is based out of Akron, Ohio. They are a boutique guitar effects company that is known for putting out high quality, hand crafted effects pedals.

Single Control

You'll notice your eye is immediately drawn to the huge freakin' knob right in the middle of the pedal. One knob! That's all you get.

But that one knob is all you need. It is an output control and works with the volume control on your own guitar. You set your output level on the pedal and then adjust your guitar volume accordingly.

If your volume is low you will get some nice overdrive. Crank it all the way up for an explosion of awesome metal mayhem!

Tube Amp Modeling

Instead of just designing a generic distortion pedal that piles on the gain but otherwise is not special, the team at EarthQuakerDevices had a tone goal in mind. The wanted to emulate the sound of a vintage Model T amplifier that is cranked all the way to 11.

Pros

single knob for simple control
you can really feel the symbiotic relationship between guitar and pedal

Cons

can be noisy

6. Boss DS-1X Distortion

Description:

If you know anything about guitar effects pedals you are familiar with Boss. They have been a leader in the industry for decades and put out great effects.

Dual Band EQ

Of the four knobs available on the Boss DS-1X, two of them are dedicated to EQ. You have both a knob to control your highs and a second knob to control your lows.

This kind of control is perfect for those of us that love to tweak our sound until it is juuuuust right.

Responsive Playback

The DS-1X is based on the original DS-1. This pedal was updated and released to include the Multi-Dimensional Processing (MDP) technology. This allows the pedal to process and adapt to the dynamics of your playing.

Pros

incredibly durable
dual band EQ
Boss is an industry leader

Cons

reports of humming

Best Premium Pedal

7. KHDK Dark Blood

Description:

Is there a more metal sounding name than KHDH Dark Blood? As if that weren't metal enough, this thing literally has a Doom knob. Oh, and Kirk Hammett is a co-founder of the company. So there's that.

The Sound Of Doom

How can you not want a Doom knob? While nothing explodes when you turn it, it is pretty awesome. It controls the EW of your signal prior to the distortion taking effect.

Turn it one direction and you get a deep, heavy, bassy grunt sound. Turn it the other way and you go from a ton of bass to a high sustain for when you really want your solos to cut through the mix.

Metallica

You can sound like Metallica. Literally, this is a pedal that Kirk Hammett uses. Tweak the settings and play around and you can have that Kirk Hammett tone you've loved forever.

Pros

Kirk Hammett uses this pedal and had influence in it's design
built in noise gate
versatile tone building

Cons

works best with hi-output humbuckers

8. Amptweaker TightMetal Jr

Description:

Amptweaker is run by a husband and wife duo named James and Phyllis brown. James worked for years ad an amp design engineer for Peavey. He and his wife have set out to give guitarists all over their own perfect tone.

Noise Gate

One of the biggest complaints you will see from just about any distortion pedal is that it is noisy, hums, buzzes, etc. While some of that could be signal chain issues, it is a common issue with these kinds of pedals.

The amptweaker Tight Metal JR has a built-in noise gate. And it isn't just a switch. It's a noise gating knob. So you can control just how subtly or abrupt it takes hold.

Up To 18v

This pedal can run with either batteries or a power supply. When only using 9v you get a deeper compressed growl. When you open it up to 18v you will get a much cleaner signal and a ton of headroom.

Pros

multiple gain options
noise gate knob
preset EQ tones

Cons

the noise gate takes tweaking to get your perfect sound

How To Pick A Metal Pedal

You've seen the options for the best metal pedals. Now, how do you figure out which one is right for you?

Keep reading and find out.

What Is Distortion?

Distortion in electric guitar is defined as "audio signal processing used to alter the sound of amplified electric musical instruments, usually by increasing their gain, producing a "fuzzy", "growling", or "gritty" tone.

Why Do You Need It?

Because you can't play metal without distortion. It's a rule. Look it up.

Seriously, it sounds awesome and is a hallmark of the metal sound. You cannot get those screaming solos, those thunderous chunks, or teeth rattling riffs with a clean tone.

Overdrive or Distortion?

People use these terms interchangeably all the time. But there are some key differences between them.

Overdrive

Overdrive is a much more dynamic effect than distortion. It will take your signal and boost it to emulate a tube amp pushed to the limit. Since it was designed with this mindset it responds just like if you were playing through that amp.

Play lightly and you won't get much of a change in sound. However, if you really attack the strings, you will get a ferocious sound back. Overdrive boosts your signal and lets the amp take care of the rest.

Distortion

Distortion takes your original signal and changes it completely instead of just boosting it. It is not nearly as dynamic of an effect as overdrive. You can play softly or really hammer at the strings and your effect will stay the same.

Whereas, overdrive boosts the signal for the amp, distortion is the workhorse that does it all. If you want to know more about the science behind these two sounds, HowToGeek.com has a pretty thorough explanation.

What To Look For In A Metal Pedal

You want to make sure your pedal has all the right settings and features for you to get the sound you want.

Gain

The gain knob gives you control over how loud your signal will be going to the input. The volume is how loud it is coming out.

Basically, you can use the gain to mold your distorted sound however you want. The lower the gain, the more sensitive it will be to your picking. You will also get a wide range of dynamics. Higher settings will act as an overdrive and give you some more of the heavy drive.

Bass

Having control of your bass, or low end, is incredibly important. Without that it's tough to get some of that thick, muddy distortion you want with heavier music.

In fact, if you can find a pedal with a full 3-band EQ, your sound will thank you.

Quality/Durability

Let's be honest, playing metal can be a bit..."aggressive" at times and they don't call these stomp boxes for nothing. Sometimes we may stomp just a little harder than when we're playing an Ed Sheeran cover.

You're going to want to make sure that your pedal is both quality and, sometimes more importantly, durable. You don't want to use a cheap pedal just to give a big boot to your distortion knob and snap it off.

Price

The pedals on this list range from under $100 to a couple hundred dollars. You don't have to spend a ton for a great pedal. Some of the more expensive pedals may have features the cheaper ones don't. But, in the end, what matters is your sound.

Set a budget, stick to it, and get the pedal that sounds best to you.

Common Questions

Here are a few of the more common questions we came across while researching for this post:

Can I Use A Distortion Pedal On Bass Guitar?

You can do whatever you want when expressing yourself. Is it unheard of? Not at all!

Justin Chancellor of Tool uses a distortion pedal. As does Les Claypool and Chris Wolstenholme of Muse. Again, it's all in how you play it.

Are Cheap Pedals Any Good?

Absolutely!

You can see we always include a wide range of budgets when making our best of lists. Cheap pedals, when used by a skilled player, can sound just as good as a premium pedal. It's all in how you make your instrument talk.

Do I Need A Compressor With A Metal Pedal?

You don't have to have a compressor pedal with your distortion or metal pedal. However, compressors are pretty handy.

Without getting too detailed, what a compression pedal does is brings your loud tones down and your low tones up by, you guessed it, compressing the sound wave. By bringing those sonic ranges closer together, you are able to get a more well balanced sound.

They're also used to give your guitar more sustain. Anything that can help your guitar cut through the mix is always a good thing. Right?

Overall Top Distortion Pedal For Metal

Again, our top pick for best sounding metal pedal is the KHDK Dark Blood. This pedal gives you so much room to dial in your perfect sound. Plus, it's Kirk Hammett approved. You can't get more metal cred than that.