Finding the best metal amps that will give you that heavy skull crushing sound isn’t easy. There are tons of combo amps for metal and tube amplifier heads that sound sick for metal music. The trick is to find the one that fits your sound and needs.
Some metal guitar amps have multiple distortion channels for your rhythm and lead signal, while others have modeling features that are controlled by a footswitch, so you can change your sound to anything you can think of. You’ll also need to think about whether to get a metal combo amp vs a metal guitar amp head. Both have their pros and cons. It just depends what you want to use them for.
Don’t worry about all your options. We reviewed all of the top-rated metal amplifiers on the market, so you can pick the right one for your heavy breakdowns, blistering solos, and chugging rhythms. Let’s check out some amps!
Click Below to Compare the Top Heavy Metal Guitar Amps in 2020
Contents
Here is a list of the best guitar amplifiers for metal that have insane heavy tone and tons of effects and features.
- Randall EOD88 Metal Guitar Amplifier Head
- Blackstar HT Stage 60 Mark II – Metal Combo Amp
- EVH 5150 III Amplifier Head
- Peavey 6505 Head
- Marshall DSL Series DSL100H
- Orange Dark Terror
- Line 6 Spider V 60 – Metal Modeling Amp
Randall EOD88 Guitar Amplifier Head
Specs, features, and benefits
The Randall EO88 Amp Head is a true beast! We are talking about a single-channel all-tube amp head with eighty-eight watts of power. In the power amp, there are two KT88 tubes and 12AX7 tubes in the preamp section.
On the front panel, from left to right you can find the guitar input, the Fuzz control knob, the Fuzz button switch, the Gain control knob, the Gain push-button, Bass control knob, Middle control knob, Treble control knob, Depth control knob, Presence control knob, Master control knob, Standby switch, and the Power switch.
On the back, we can find the Footswitch jack (the footswitch comes included in the price) for engaging the Fuzz, the Send and Return jacks, the Line Out, and outputs for speaker cabinets with 4Ohms, 8Ohm, and 16Ohm resistance value. The amp doesn’t have any clean channel… The amp is inspired from the sound the early days of Ozzy Osbourne. The “EOD” stands for “Element of Doom”. You can tell that this amp is a monster with just a glance of it, but when you plug it in. You will be amazed by the raw power!
Pros and Highlights
- Element of Doom – This amp is a true beast. Pure doom!
- Extreme sound! – It is a tube amp with amazing power. It will blow you away!
- No nonsense – This amp doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles – you probably don’t need them too! Just crank it up and rock!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Not for everybody – Well, of course, this amp is not for everybody. It is called Element of Doom for Christ Sake! If you love clean sounds, stay away from this beast!
Bottom line
If you are a true Ozzy Osbourne fan, or in fact, you love metal, and you are a metal guitar player, you might easily fall in love with this amp. It has tons of raw power, and it sounds incredible. It is a tube-amp – this is why it sounds so amazing. Also, it has a built-in fuzz circuit, which is a great feature. It is a metal amp! If you have the money, and you are a true metalhead, don’t hesitate, go and try out one of these. You will be doomed!
Blackstar HT Stage 60 Mark II
Specs, features, and benefits
The Blackstar HT Stage 60 Mark II is a 60Watt combo guitar amp with an all tube amplifier with two EL34 tubes and two twelve-inch Celestion speakers. In the preamp section, there are two ECC83 tubes to ensure an amazing sonic experience.
On the far left on the control panel is the guitar input, and starting from there we have these clusters (and their controls): Clean Cluster (Clean button, Volume control knob, Voice push-button switch, Bass control knob, and Treble control knob); OD1/OD2 cluster (the two of them have a push-button switch, Gain and Volume control knobs, and Voice push-button switch); OD1/OD2 Equalization cluster (Bass, Middle, Treble, and ISF (Infinite Shape Feature) control knobs); Reverb level control knob, Master cluster (Resonance, Presence, and Volume control knobs), power attenuator push-button switch (6W/60W), Standby switch, and Power On/Off switch.
On the back of the amp, there are the speaker outputs (4/8/16 ohms), Emulated outputs (DI XLR Output, Line out/Phones jack, 4×12/1×12 switch), Reverb switch (dark/light), Effects loop cluster (+4dBV/-10dBV level push button, Return jack and Send jack), Footswitch jacks (2-way, 5-way), and USB port. The Blackstar HT Stage 60 Mark II combo is great both for gigging and recording. It is a very versatile amp, and it sounds great.
Pros and Highlights
- Versatile – With this combo, you have a lot of different sounds… British, American, High-Gain, Clean, Boomy, Trebbly, Metal, Hard-Rock, Blues…
- Sounds amazing! – Due to the all-tube design, this Blackstar is a true master of sound!
- Easy to use – You have all the controls on the amp right under your fingertips!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons!
Bottom line
If you are looking for a tube amp that can deliver a lot of different sounds with character – the Blackstar HT Stage 60 Mark II is the right amp for you. It sounds amazing; it is versatile and very easy to use. Great for recording and for gigging!
EVH 5150 III Amplifier Head
Specs, features, and benefits
If you are looking for a massive sound, you can go wrong with the EVH 5150 III 50W 6L6 amp head. Don’t let the amp’s size fool you, we are talking about 50W of power, we are talking about a tube amp! It is raw, man!
With two 6L6 tubes in the power amp and seven 12AX7 tubes in the preamp section, this monster provides you with a lot of different and awesome guitar tones. It has three switchable channels, Clean, Crunch, and Overdrive.
On the control panel, from left to right, you can first find the controls for channel 1 and channel 2. These two channels are controlled with the same control knobs. You have Gain, Low, Mid, High, and Volume control knobs available for this two. Then it comes to the two-way switch that lets you set either the Clean or the Crunch Channel.
After that, there are the controls for the third channel – the Overdrive channel control cluster. It has control knobs for Gain, Low, Mid, High, and Volume, and a select button. On the far right, you can find the Presence control knob, which works for all of the three channels.
On the back of the amp, you can find the Power switch, the Standby switch, the Headphones Jack, the Midi in jack, the Footswitch port, the Effects Loop jacks, the Preamp out, the Resonance control knob, the Load Impedance switch (4,8,16 ohms), and the Parallel Speaker Outputs. The EVH 5150 III 50W 6L6 comes with a footswitch included in the price. The footswitch has switches for the three channels and for effects (FX loop).
Pros and Highlights
- Massive! – This amp sounds BIG!
- Three channels! – The versatility of this amp is huge. It sounds amazing on all three channels. It has seven 12AX7 tubes in the preamp, and two 6L6’s in the power amp!
- Compact – Sturdy, and compact head. Great for touring.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons! – This is a great amplifier head!
Bottom line
The EVH 5150 III 50W 6L6 Amplifier Head is a true monster. Very powerful and loud amp. It sounds very good on all of the three channels. It is great for recording and for touring. It is the masterpiece of the EVH Company.
Peavey 6505 Head
Specs, features, and benefits
The Peavey 6505 head is a 120Watt tube amp with two switchable channels. The 6505 by Peavey has four 6L6GC tubes in the power amp, and five 12AX7 preamp tubes.
From left to right, the 6505 has two inputs, High-Gain for the guitars with active pick-ups, and Normal Gain for the guitars with passive pick-ups. Then we have the channel push-button switch. The Rhythm has a Pre-Gain control knob, and two push buttons, Bright and Crunch.
The Lead channel also has a dedicated Pre-Gain control knob. Next, we have the Equalization cluster with Low, Mid, and High control knobs, dedicated Post Gain control knob for each channel, and Resonance and Presence control knobs that apply to both of the channels.
Finally, we have the Standby and the Power switch. On the back panel of the amp, there is the Effects Loop jacks, the Preamp Out, the Remote Switch (footswitch) jack, and two Speaker Outputs with switchable Ohmage (4/8/16).
The included footswitch has a channel switch, and effects (Effects loop) switch.
Pros and Highlights
- Massive and raw sound – Great for metal!
- Versatile – Three channels!
- Reliable, Sturdy – This is a great amp for any kind of situation – gigging, touring, recording, etc.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons!
Bottom line
If you are looking for a sturdy tube amp, that offers tons of gain, and massive sound, that can stand proudly on the stage, and you can record with it also, you will not make a mistake if you go for the Peavey 6505 Head. It has three channels; it has tons of gain and raw and massive sound. Great for metalheads and hard rock guitar channels.
Marshall DSL Series DSL100H
Specs, features, and benefits
Of course, a Marshall amp! We would make a big mistake if we excluded the absolute champion of guitar amp manufacturing. The Marshall DSL100H is a 100Watt tube amp head with two switchable channels. It has four EL34’s and one ECC83 tube in the power amp and three ECC83 in the preamp section.
On the control panel, starting from the left, there are the Power and the Standby switch, dedicated Reverb control knob for each channel, Equalization cluster with Resonance and Presence control knobs, Tone Shift push-button, and Bass, Middle, and Treble control knobs, Ultra Gain channel with Lead1/Lead2 push-button and Volume and Gain control knobs, and Classic Gain channel Clean/Crunch push button and Volume and Gain control knobs.
On the back of the head, you can find the Speaker outputs (4/8/16OHM), the Footswitch port; the Effects loop jacks, and the Triode/Pentode switch that can attenuate the power of the amp to half.
Pros and Highlights
- It is a Marshall! – Marshall amps are one of the most popular guitar amps for decades. Maybe you would ask yourself, why? Because they are durable, reliable, and they have a great tone!
- Great sound – With this amp, you have all those classic Marshal tones, as well as the new, modern ones!
- Affordable – Well, of course, having in mind all of the features of the amp!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- The Reverb is lame! You can end up with a DOA amp! – We can probably agree that the reverb is pretty lame on this amp. This might not be a big deal. What should concern you more is that there are many disappointed owners of this model who received their amp defective or dead on arrival. Try it before you buy it, folks! You don’t want to throw away your hard-earned money.
Bottom line
It is a Marshall amp, but I must say that I’m a bit disappointed with the quality of this amp. It is not like the old Marshall amps that we are used to, but there are a lot of happy owners of this amp. It’s worth checking out.
Orange Dark Terror
Specs, features, and benefits
The Orange Dark Terror amp is a 15Watt tube amp head with a great sound and intuitive set of controls. Just like every other Orange amp, the Dark Terror is built like a tank!
The Dark Terror head has two EL84 tubes in the power amp and three 12AX7 preamp tubes. On the control panel, from left to right, you can first find the Power switch, the 15Watts/Standby/7Watts switch, Volume control knob, Shape (Tone) control knob, and Gain control knob.
On the back of the amp, there are three speaker outputs – two 8Ohm outputs and 16Ohm output, and the Effects Loop.
Pros and Highlights
- Lightweight, Compact, Portable – Great for touring!
- Amazing sound – Of course! This is a tube amp made by Orange!
- Affordable! – If you are on a tight budget, but you still want a high gained tube amp, this is the right fit for you!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No crystal-clear cleans – Well, if you are in for a metal amp – you will probably don’t need crystal clear tones. However, if you actually do need them, this is not the amp for you. The high-gained tones are amazing!
Bottom line
If you are looking for a tube amp with a raw, massive, high-gained tone, that is highly portable and you would take it on the road, the Orange Dark Terror amp head is the perfect fit for you. The “cleans” on this amp are not so clean, so if you need those, you won’t like this amp. However, if you are more into high-gained metal or hard rock, this amp will be a perfect fit for you.
Line 6 Spider V 60
Specs, features, and benefits
The Line 6 Spider V 60 is a 60-Watt Modeling combo amp with a ten-Inch speaker and high-frequency driver, offering a huge amount of versatility. It has five control knobs with two functions. You can choose the function of the knobs with the Amp/FX push buttons. Drive (Compressor), Bass (FX1), Middle (Fx2), Treble (FX3), and Volume (Reverb) are available.
Then you have the built-in modeling processor, that is packed with seventy-eight amp-models, one hundred and one effects, one hundred and twenty-eight presets, a built-in tuner, built-in metronome, and drum loops. After that, you have the Master control knob, and the headphones out. Also, this amp has an internal wireless receiver – you can go wireless with the Relay G10T transmitter, and rock around your house without any cords dragging behind you. It also features a looper with 60 seconds of record time.
On the back panel of the amp, you can find the power switch, the aux-in, the FBV pedal input, and the two USB ports. You can connect this amp with IOS devices, Mac, PC, and Android.
Pros and Highlights
- Works great with both electric and acoustic guitar, and music – The speaker system on this amp allows you to have a great sound with both your acoustic and electric guitars. It also sounds great with playback music.
- Versatile as it can get – The Line 6 Spider V60 is very versatile, it offers a ton of features, metronome, looper, a ton of amp simulations and effects… You can even go wireless with this thing!
- USB connectivity – This feature makes this amp great for recording.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- You may not like how it actually sounds – Although this amp offers a lot of bells and whistles, some of the tone-freaks (including myself) don’t like how this amp sounds. If you ask me – it is just too digital, un-natural sounding amp.
Bottom line
Many owners love their Line 6 Spider V 60, as it really offers a lot. To say it is versatile would be an understatement, as this thing offers more than any other amp in its price range. However, many players don’t like the amp’s sound. It sounds unnatural to the tone-freaks that have tasted the pure gold sound of the tube amps. Not for everybody.
What We Recommend and Why
We recommend the Randall EOD88! Why? Of course, because it is a true metal amp! It is also a very versatile, sturdy, compact, and very great sounding amp! Affordable too! The Element of Doom by Randall is one of the best metal amps on today’s market. Highly recommended for both touring and for recording!