Gary has long been a KHDK muse. This pedal is our latest homage to the high priest of thrash metal.

KHDK elders remember Gary's first pedal with us - the Paranormal.

This pedal changed the course of what I do. 

It was the first signature limited edition pedal we created and the process was so fun, fast-paced and rewarding.

It re-energized the whole KHDK team and chartered our course for the future.

From Paranormal to Mad Monarch

Paranormal is one of the pedals that created a truly lasting legacy.

Years after it has sold out, I still have people messaging me about how it changed their tone and inspired them - I absolutely love hearing your stories like that.

Gary too loved the creative process, so we knew that another colla-bro-ation was just a matter of time.

Cancelled Exodus Tour, New Idea

In the summer of 2023, the Exodus tour got cancelled. The reason was a difficult family situation with Gary's brother - and it tells you a lot about the human that Gary is.

He put everything aside to help his family, even if it meant cancelling a tour he had been excitedly awaiting for a long time.

This meant that Gary had some free time on his hands, so we started messaging about creating his tone in a box.

The idea: Mad Monarch, a king of thrash tone.

Our engineer and audio demigod Antonin Salva put on his magical cloak and spun some wires in his workshop. Gary tested the first prototype...and, in his own words, ended up jamming for hours.

We wanted to nail Gary's tone from early Exodus to Slayer and we think accomplished that...and beyond.

We only needed to make a few tweaks until the production prototype got Gary's final regal approval.

The Mad Monarch is now Gary's "savior pedal" and goes with him everywhere.

He told me that if there is a bad rental amp on the tour (because not all of them are serviced that great) Gary can plug the Mad Monarch into the power section and it saves him and he gets his consistent tone.

All hail the King!