ESP LTD Black Metal Series: The Meanest-Looking Axes with the Most Aggressive Sounds?
New color, new pickup, meaner sounds!
ESP LTD Black Metal Series: The Meanest-Looking Axes with the Most Aggressive Sounds? · Source: ESP
After minimalist comes flashy! That might have been what the Japanese manufacturer was thinking when they revamped the ESP LTD Black Metal Series. Following the midnight black finish and the 2018-style pickup, ESP has now unveiled a far more striking rebirth of these metal axes—both visually and sonically—with a lineup of six models.
Brutal, Blood Red, and Baritone
ESP = Metal. The manufacturer for sure doesn’t need to release a dedicated series just to emphasize that. Hardly any other guitar maker is as synonymous with guitars for the hardest genres as the Japanese. Even with the first generation of the Black Metal series in 2018, they demonstrated that they are well aware of this.
But times are changing. While eight years ago the minimalist combination of a black body and a single-voice EMG 81 pickup won over many fans, in 2026 we’re on a different track. Black metal guitars are as standard as it gets.
The new “Black Redburst Satin” color couldn’t be a better fit. It’s both evil and eye-catching in the best ways possible! That red binding fading into the black… Gorgeous!
Seymour Duncan Mortal Coil 7
The second major innovation in the ESP LTD Black Metal Series is the pickup. The EMG 81, which featured a single voicing on the Arrow and EXL models, has been replaced by a Seymour Duncan Mortal Coil, which offers three distinct voicings. The pickup was unveiled at NAMM 2026 and is Seymour Duncan’s first active humbucker with multiple voicings.
Next to the master volume knob is an extra knob to switch between the three voicings. MC1 is the Modern Metal Voicing, designed for a focused sound tailored to high-gain amplification. MC2, on the other hand, offers a more classic, mid-rangey humbucker sound.
And MC3, in turn, gets you single-coil sounds without the loss of volume that’s otherwise common with these pickups.
The new ESP LTD Black Metal Series
The ESP LTD Black Metal Series includes three baritone models with a 27-inch scale length, plus an EverTune-equipped guitar, an Arrow, and an ST-style EXL. First, the Arrow Black Metal comes with a mahogany body, a maple neck (Extra-Thin U-profile), a Macassar ebony fingerboard, and a Floyd Rose 1000 bridge.
Next, the EXL model stands out for its short scale (24.75 inches), LTD locking tuners, and the TonePros Locking Tune-o-Matic bridge with a stop tailpiece. Then, we have the three baritone models:
- ESP LTD EXL-7 Baritone Black Metal: 27-inch scale length, 7 strings, 3-piece maple neck, 24 XJ stainless steel frets, TOM with string-thru.
- ESP LTD Phoenix-7 Baritone Black Metal: 27-inch scale length, mahogany with maple top, one-piece mahogany neck with a Thin-U profile, 22 frets, TonePros locking TOM with string-through body.
- ESP LTD M-7HT Baritone Black Metal: 27-inch scale, double-cut with alder body, three-piece maple neck in an extra-thin U-profile, Hipshot bridge.
And as the most powerful and unsual model in the series, we also have the LTD M-6 EverTune 30 Black Metal: 30-inch scale length, EverTune bridge, six strings.
How much do the models in the ESP LTD Black Metal series cost?
You can now pre-order the six models in the ESP LTD Black Metal series from Sweetwater* or from Thomann*—where, by the way, they are listed as “Black Metal II” to distinguish them from the first series in the catalog. Their prices range from 1,599 to 1,849 euros.
More on the new series from ESP
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