just start to move away from anything boss and as sixx mentioned... DOD BS
however, there are very very few exceptions to boss. As for the metal zone, Warren Haynes uses this with good success. I only use boss now for an EQ, Compression (cs-2 or 3), and really that's it. or to throw something into a loop.
but I got into that whole craze of True-Bypass so Boss can take a back seat.