Bloodbath’s Brutal Guitars: Lawrence Mackrory’s Pedal Hacking Guide

In a world where countless producers wield the same amp sims, samples, and plugins, carving out a guitar tone that truly slashes through the noise can feel like a monumental task. It’s awesome to have access to killer tools without breaking the bank, but if you’re not venturing off the beaten path, your mixes risk sounding just like everyone else’s. Enter Lawrence Mackrory, the sonic architect behind Bloodbath’s punishing guitar assault, who demonstrates the immense power of diving headfirst down the tone rabbit hole to forge something truly unique.

When working on Bloodbath’s material, Lawrence knew he needed to deliver something special. While the band has a history intertwined with the classic Boss HM-2 “Stockholm chainsaw” sound, they weren’t looking to rehash old glories. This time, the mission was to cook up a death metal sound with a distinctly American flavor, drawing inspiration from titans like Obituary, Morbid Angel, and Cannibal Corpse. This meant a fresh, super high-gain approach was in order. Check out the full session here. Let’s dive in!

Shifting Gears: Beyond the Stockholm Sound

The initial goal for Bloodbath’s rhythm guitars was a powerful, defined, high-gain sound that wasn’t primarily built on the HM-2. Lawrence aimed to capture that Floridian death metal essence – think crushing, articulate, and aggressive. The DIs were recorded clean, offering a blank canvas, and while an initial Kemper sound was okay, “okay” wasn’t going to cut it for a Bloodbath record. It needed to be way cooler.

This set the stage for some serious experimentation, moving beyond typical amp sim presets and into the wild world of hardware pedal manipulation.

The Unlikely Heroes: Pedals as Preamps

One of Lawrence’s key strategies for crafting these brutal tones involved a technique that many guitarists overlook: using distortion pedals as preamps, feeding them directly into an amplifier’s effects return. This bypasses the amp’s own preamp section, letting the pedal’s character shape the core gain structure, which is then amplified by the power amp.

Pulverizing with the Line 6 Uber Metal

For the main left and right guitar tracks, Lawrence reached for a pedal that many might scoff at: the Line 6 Uber Metal. He admits it can sound “absolutely awful” when plugged into the front of an amp. However, by running the DI signal into the Uber Metal – specifically on its “Pulverize” setting – and then routing its output into the effects return of a Peavey JSX head (just using its power amp), magic happened.

This unconventional pairing, feeding just the power amp and then into a speaker cabinet IR (specifically, Cali Cabs featuring Mesa V30s that complemented the tone perfectly), formed the backbone of Bloodbath’s crushing rhythm sound. It’s a testament to how a pedal’s perceived “badness” in one context can be its strength in another.

The Metal Zone Strikes Back (for the Center)

But why stop with one “shouldn’t work but does” pedal? For the center guitar track, Lawrence brought out another often-maligned classic: the Boss MT-2 Metal Zone. Just like the Uber Metal, the Metal Zone was fed directly into the effects return of the Peavey JSX.

The Metal Zone, famous (or infamous) for its potent EQ section, allowed Lawrence to sculpt a distinct tone for the center guitar. This wasn’t about simply tripling the same sound; it was about adding a different texture and character in the middle to make the overall guitar sound bigger and more interesting, while still ensuring it gelled with the main L/R tones. If you want to learn more about how to effectively use tools like the powerful EQs on these pedals, check out some EQ strategies for mixing modern metal.

Don’t Ditch the Chainsaw: Strategic HM-2 Layering

Even with these monstrous, high-gain tones dialed in, Lawrence felt something was missing – that bit of “sizzle” and chaotic energy often associated with the Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal. So, the chainsaw wasn’t entirely abandoned; it was just used in a more nuanced, supportive role.

Not Your Typical HM-2 Sound

Instead of being the primary distortion source, the HM-2 was blended underneath the main guitar tracks. Thomas Englund’s picking is incredibly clean and precise, and Lawrence found that adding a layer of HM-2 grit helped to “dirty up” the pick attack and add a unique vibe, much like how you might blend in saturation on a drum bus. It’s about giving those pristine notes some hair and aggression without losing definition.

The “All Knobs to Full” Classic & Its Path

For this HM-2 layer, Lawrence went with the legendary setting: all knobs dimed to full. The DI signal was sent straight into the HM-2 pedal, and then recorded directly into the DAW. No traditional amp was involved at this stage for the HM-2.

To give this pure pedal signal an “amp-like” feel, he then processed it with an amp sim – specifically, the Fortin Cali plugin. The key here was to use the Cali not as a high-gain monster, but as a “crunchy” amp, finding a sweet spot that wasn’t super clean nor overly distorted. This allowed the HM-2’s character to shine through while sitting perfectly in the mix as a textural element.

The Philosophy: Dare to Be Different

Lawrence’s approach to the Bloodbath guitars is a masterclass in sonic exploration. In his own words, if you want to create something that nobody else has, you have to go down the rabbit hole and try everything. This means experimenting with gear in ways it wasn’t necessarily intended to be used – like running an Uber Metal in “Pulverize” mode into an effects return or using an HM-2 as a DI effect.

This willingness to make things work that “shouldn’t” is what leads to truly interesting and memorable guitar sounds. It’s highly unlikely anyone else was using that exact Line 6 Uber Metal chain on a death metal album, and that’s what gives it an edge. The listeners get something fresh and unexpected.

Essential Gear & Signal Path Breakdown

Let’s quickly recap the core components of this brutal Bloodbath guitar recipe:

• Guitars: Recorded as DIs, providing maximum flexibility for re-amping.
• Key Pedals:
  • Line 6 Uber Metal (on “Pulverize” for main L/R)
  • Boss MT-2 Metal Zone (for center guitar)
  • Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal (all knobs full, for layered sizzle)
• Amplification:
  • Peavey JSX Head: Utilized primarily for its power amp section via the effects return. Its line send out, which sounds great and can be used without a cab, was a bonus before a Two Notes load box was acquired.
  • Fortin Cali Plugin: Used as a crunchy amp platform for the DI’d HM-2 signal.
• Impulse Responses: Cali Cabs (Mesa V30 models) were crucial for shaping the final sound of the amped signals.
• Core Workflow: DI -> Pedal (as preamp) -> Power Amp (Peavey JSX) -> IR. For the HM-2: DI -> HM-2 Pedal -> DAW -> Amp Sim (Fortin Cali).

Understanding how gain staging, pedal interaction, and power amp saturation work together is vital. And don’t forget the impact of a well-chosen IR! Subtle compression techniques for metal can also play a role in taming and shaping such aggressive tones within a full mix.

Craft Your Own Brutal Tones

Lawrence Mackrory’s work on the Bloodbath guitars is a powerful reminder that unique, face-melting tones often come from daring experimentation and a willingness to break the rules. By thinking outside the box and repurposing gear in creative ways, you can forge sounds that truly stand out.

Want to dive deeper and see exactly how Lawrence sculpted these tones and integrated them into the full Bloodbath mix? You’re in luck! You can watch Lawrence mix Bloodbath from scratch in his exclusive session over at Nail The Mix.

If you’re ready to move beyond presets and truly Unlock Your Sound: Mixing Modern Metal Beyond Presets, learning these kinds of in-depth techniques from world-class producers is invaluable. At Nail The Mix, you get access to the actual multitracks from massive metal songs and watch the original producers explain every decision, from dialing in raw tones to final mastering.