Swedish guitarist and YouTuber Ola Englund has a distinguished career working with extreme acts like Feared, The Haunted, and Six Feet Under. His latest solo record, Starzinger, exemplifies his stunning technique and willingness to experiment. The album even includes some synthwave textures alongside the requisite bludgeoning riffs and precision shredding. A true authority on heavy metal, few are better equipped than Englund to explore the distorted depths of the Waza Craft HM-2W.
A Brutal Rarity
Englund begins his breakdown video by giving his viewers a little background on the original HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal. “BOSS started to make these pedals back in 1983 in Japan up until 1988,” Englund shares. “Since they were discontinued in 1992, there aren’t that many out there.” As far as he’s concerned, the fact that they are difficult to come by only adds to their appeal. “That makes the original HM-2 made in Japan pretty rare.”
Waza Craft Answers the Call
“We’re seeing an influx of bands starting to use the HM-2 for the Swedish chainsaw metal tone, so people have been asking BOSS to bring back the HM-2,” Englund says. He goes on to explain how BOSS responded to the desires of HM-2 fans everywhere. “There was a petition online,” he says. “People signed up and BOSS listened, so here we have a made-in-Japan BOSS HM-2W Waza Craft.”
"We're seeing an influx of bands starting to use the HM-2 for the Swedish chainsaw metal tone." -Ola Englund
A Tale of Two Channels
Testing the HM-2W through both clean and dirty amp channels, Englund pushes the black and orange distortion box to its limits. The guitarist’s blend of power and control demonstrates why he remains a revered player in the metal community.
Englund notes that the HM-2W is “basically the same design” as its predecessor, with knobs for Level, Low, High EQ, and distortion. Next, he calls out the fact that compared to the original, the Waza Craft version possesses a better noise floor and +3dB more volume. As part of his demonstration, Englund toggles between the HM-2W’s two gain modes, showcasing the differences in tone and color. “Like on the new Metal Zone, they have a Standard and a Custom.”
Re-creation Plus Innovation
Overall, Englund appears more than satisfied by the revamped approach of the HM-2W. “It sounds like it should,” he states plainly. Going one step further, Englund rejoices in the fact that such an extreme product made it to market. “It’s cool that BOSS made this in the Waza Craft format because it’s such a cult pedal.”
"It sounds like it should. It's cool that BOSS made this in the Waza Craft format because it's such a cult pedal." -Ola Englund
“It’s so niche,” he tells his viewers towards the end of the video. “Not a lot of people like this type of sound or metal that sounds like this. BOSS went out of their way and made this for the few of us out there.” There is a practical benefit to the HM-2W as well, one which Englund is happy to point out. “Now you don’t have to spend a lot of money on a BOSS HM-2 from Japan or Taiwan.”
