Ah dude I'm gonna say it really really all depends on what kind of metal you play. For Death Metal, you're probably going to need some sort of pedal or just dime the contour on the burn channel or something. Go to http://www.dougstubes.com and there's a tube kit that gives the burn channel like 30% more gain and less hum from what people say. Just remember that amp preference is all relative. So many people love the Rectos for metal but personally I really don't like the tone at all. I'm glad I didn't hear what a lot of people said about this amp before I tried it because IMO for Atmospheric Black Metal this amp is ridiculous. Even with the Blues channel's gain dimed I can still get great black metal tones out of it. This amp is unfathomably articulate and just has great tone in general. If it had a presence knob I think it could open up the possibilities a lot more for death, tech death, grindcore, thrash, and the more "Norwegian" black sound where everything is kind of scratchy, but personally I love this things tone to death. Silky and articulate while still being high gain. The class A is like a wet dream come true for solos. It's soooo awwwwwwwwesome.