A firm favorite of David Gilmour and Swedish death-metal fans alike, the HM-2 Heavy Metal is one of the most-requested reissues in the Boss back catalogue – and now the iconic Japanese pedal company has officially confirmed that it will return.
During the firm’s Talk with Boss series, Boss president Yoshi Ikegami confirmed a Waza Craft version of the HM-2 is in the works, and for the first time, the company will be seeking input from fans of the pedal.
A Boss HM-2W Facebook group has been launched where users can share their feedback, and what they’d like to see from the new version.
Boss revealed that it will share updates on the design as it is developed, too – another first for the company – and it will officially be launched next year.
That means this month’s hotly teased new Waza Craft pedal will not be the HM-2 reissue – for now, our best guess is that it’s a new fuzz… or even the return of the FZ-2 Hyper Fuzz.
Released in 1983, the HM-2 reached cult status when it became the foundational tone of Swedish death-metallers Entombed’s 1990 debut, Left Hand Path, with all settings set to full.
On a completely different tonal tip, David Gilmour also used the pedal on ’80s albums About Face and A Momentary Lapse of Reason.
The HM-2 is unique among distortion pedals for its radically versatile low and high ‘Color Mix’ EQ controls, which offer +/- 20dB of boost/cut.
There’s no word on a firm release date for the HM-2 Waza just yet, but Boss’s other new Waza Craft pedal looks likely to coincide with next week’s Talk with Boss on December 2 – more news on that as we have it…
