Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Got black?

The labels on the pedals say it all- these are meant to be brutal. Let's take a step back & think- is there really such a thing- a black metal type of distortion? How intense should it be to qualify as one? What if I am using 2 standard distortion units cascaded into each other to manifest this BM-type brutality, do I qualify? Why/ why not?

As much as we would want to believe what's on offer, there would be dweebs out there who think that these are the end-all reference; anything else is not 'true'. But I'd say we embrace whatever means to the ends as long as they work. More often than not, after trying out any metal-type distortion, I'd walk away feeling pissed. The real brutal distortion comes from amps, pedals come in when there are insufficient implements to get the job done. Peavey's 5150 amps (RIP) were there to black metal all other distortion & continue to be a respectable reference today. So what gives? Nothing, just the gear that serves you. Anything else is someone else's opinion.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Nicely put. Couldnt have had it said any better.