6 Guitar Amps for Some Skull Crushing Metal

Amplification and distortion is an integral part of heavy metal music.

- AKARSH SHEKHAR

Quite frankly, metal without amplification loses a lot of its massive punch. Here are six guitar amps which will help you deliver some skull-crushing mayhem.

Marshall JCM800 2203X

With the impact that Marshall has had over rock and metal, it's obvious that we are going to start our list with an amp from this legendary firm. The JCM800 family of heads literally owned the burgeoning metal scene on both sides of the Atlantic in the ’80s. And the 100-watt 2203, with its trademark “punch in the chest” roar, was the patriarch of the JCM tribe. In addition to its gloriously aggressive voice, the head fires through one channel of no-nonsense, all-tube (3 x 12AX7, 4 x EL34) brutality.

Diezel VH4

This Teutonic titan is built like a tank, and its fearsome tonal firepower made it an instant favourite with metal’s most influential players (including James Hetfield of Metallica and Adam Jones of Tool) from the very moment it first reared its head in the mid-1990s. A quarter of a century later, the VH4 remains iconic in the world of metal.

EVH 5150 III 50W EL34