The Kill Chain is an analog transistor fuzz pedal from Black Mass Electronics, handmade in Salem, Massachusetts. The maker describes it as a pedal built for "a fuzz full of aggression, and raunchy raucousness," with a deliberately small control set: one knob and two toggles. Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio called it "a one-knob transistor fuzz."1 It sits in the wider family of fuzz pedals, alongside the maker's Missionary Fuzz V2.
The controls
The Kill Chain's feature set is intentionally simple. The maker's design goals, stated on the product page, were a fuzz with aggression and "a simple feature set that was easy to understand and dial in," with a fixed filter that felt natural across different pickups, amps and music styles.23
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Level (knob) | Sets overall output volume without affecting the fuzz amount; as the level is raised, treble is attenuated to keep the high end balanced across the sweep231 |
| Depth (toggle) | Selects how much low end enters the circuit, controlling the overall heft of the fuzz. Middle is the least bass, for a tight, aggressive fuzz-tortion; left adds more low end as the standard fuzz mode; right is a huge low-end fuzz2 |
| Bleed (toggle) | Adjusts the attenuated frequencies of the output treble bleed while boosting volume. Left gives more compression, tighter, with more high end; right gives a more open, more mid-focused sound that is much louder2 |
The Bleed toggle does several things at once, as RockBoard's PedalPedia describes it: it adjusts the cutoff frequency down for less prominent treble across the Level sweep, reduces the overall compression for a more open and aggressive sound, and delivers a large volume boost.3
Because the knob is volume only, the fuzz texture itself stays fixed. De Gregorio put it plainly: "The knob controls the volume of the output without affecting the fuzz." The only way to clean the fuzz up is the guitar's volume knob.1
Power: 9V, 42mA
The Kill Chain has no battery option. Power requirements from the maker:
- 9V DC only, and the maker warns against running it at higher voltages2
- Standard 2.1mm center negative connector2
- Current draw of 42mA2
- An isolated pedalboard power supply is recommended2
The maker states "9V DC ONLY!" for this pedal. A supply with a higher voltage option, or a daisy-chained output, is not what Black Mass Electronics recommends here; use an isolated supply.2
Versions and availability
The maker lists the Kill Chain in three finishes: High-Vis Pink, which is UV reactive, plus Gold and Black.2 The listed price on the maker's page is £115.00 GBP as of 26 October 2026.2
Videos
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Noise Generator
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Questions
Does the Kill Chain run on a battery?
No. The Kill Chain is power only, with no battery option. It needs 9V DC through a standard 2.1mm center negative connector and draws 42mA, and Black Mass Electronics recommends an isolated pedalboard power supply rather than a daisy chain.
Sources (3)
- Black Mass Electronics Kill Chain Fuzz, Delicious Audio, 2022-11-11
- Kill Chain, Black Mass Electronics
- Kill Chain by Black Mass Electronics, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
