[2] Boss settled on a complex design for a distortion pedal, with a dual-stage gain circuit, seven filters for both pre- and post-distortion, and a semi-parametric three-band EQ section.

At the Gates and Cannibal Corpse embraced the pedal,[5] while Nathan Weaver of Wolves in the Throne Room favorably described the MT-2 as a "fucked-up, corpse-grinding type sound.

Blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa cited the MT-2 as his favorite Boss "dirt" pedal and said, "Just because it’s called the Metal Zone, that doesn’t mean you need to run the gain all the way up.

[5] Outside of the music industry, the MT-2 found notoriety when online conspiracy theorists repurposed the pedal's schematics to fake evidence that COVID-19 vaccines contained implanted 5G chips.

[6] The Metal Zone features a dual-stage gain circuit, seven filters for both pre- and post-distortion, and a semi-parametric three-band EQ section.

In an article on how to best use the Metal Zone, Guitar World wrote that the high control is crucial, as it acts as a shelving EQ that interacts with the pedal's other settings.