Our grind band is complete Terrorizer worship. I've been through most of the common metal amplifiers, dual/triple rectos, 5150s, Marshalls, Valvestates, etc, and the VH140C kicks most of them in the teeth for our style. The Dual Recto stands alone though, but the VH140C is just as good, and cost me 650 USD less than the Mesa. I use the HM-2 as a boost and not in the dimed method of those bands. I couldn't ever get that same tone at stage/practice volume, so the HM-2 as a boost shapes the sound, and we do get something close but not entirely the same.
I don't really want an overly sludgy tone, because we do have some riffs that need some clarity, but want the distortion to be very raw. I do use the guitar for some other metal styles without an HM-2, so I should choose the pickups that would best suit the amplifier and guitar instead of the pedal. I rarely play anything outside of heavy metal and crust/punk.