Boss HM-2 no relation October 1983
Background
Boss HM-2 was first issued in October 1983. It was originally manufactured in Japan from 1983 until 1988 and then in Taiwan from 1988 until 1991. It was designed to emulate the mid-range response of the Marshall stacks., Boss HM-2 is based on Boss DS-1. Despite achieving a moderate success in the glam metal scene, the pedal was discontinued in 1991; it was succeeded by Boss HM-3 Hyper Metal and Boss MT-2 Metal Zone, latter of which became a commercial success and Boss top selling pedal.Since its discontinuance, Boss HM-2 became one of the demanded pedals of the Boss back catalogue. Different manufacturers have produced custom pedal clones to emulate its sound, the popular Boss HM-2 clones was Behringer Heavy Metal HM-300 and TC Electronic Eyemaster (named after Entombed song). Guitarist and record producer Kurt Ballou has been cited as an influence for the pedal's resurgence and bands such as Nails and Rotten Sound have also appropriated the pedal's sound for different extreme metal styles.In 2020, Boss Corporation president Yoshi Ikegami announced that the pedal would be reissued as a part of the Waza Craft pedal series under the name Boss HM-2w. For the reissue, the company also established a Facebook group to seek design feedback from the fanbase. The prototype of Boss HM-2w has been tested by Ola Englund.
The Waza Craft version added standard and custom mode to the Boss HM-2w, like the Boss MT-2w (the upgraded version of the popular Boss MT-2 Metal Zone).Swedish death metal and Chainsaw tone
The pedal is well known for its chainsaw tone when the settings of all knobs is maximum, invented by  Leif Cuzner, band like Entombed, Dismember, Bloodbath are using this pedal for their main sound, many Swedish band using Boss HM-2 with Peavey amp to archive this sound. In the 1990s, the pedal attracted a cult following in the underground heavy metal scene due to its formative influence over the Swedish death metal sound. Entombed's 1990 album, Left Hand Path, cemented its use in the scene.At the Gates's 1995 album, Slaughter of the Soul combined the Boss HM-2 with Boss MT-2 and Boss SD-1.
Many Boss HM-2 especially Made in Japan has been collected by guitarist of Entombed and Dismember.
The pedal still remain popular among Swedish guitarist.
no relation