If you're in a metal band and you're looking for something that can reflect that, look no further than Schecter. It's an amazing brand (that even SynGates has been using for years) and even I use a Schecter on a daily basis. If you're looking for the deep, awesome distorted rhythm I recommend any guitar on the site, and you can even find some for a really good price. I bought the Schecter Omen-Extreme 6, it does have passive pickups though (even though they're not active they still have really good gain). I recommend this guitar if you plan on playing a lot of rhythm since this guitar makes it easy for you. If you're playing lead, I recommend finding a used Sun-Valley Shredder or try to find a used Blackjack model. Both awesome guitars that have some really good bite force. What I've found the best about Schecter is that they get some really nice blues and jazz tones (which is kinda weird considering they're often used for metal).