High-gain is saturated, compressed and sustaining — the hard rock and metal voice. The trap is too much: past a point, more gain only adds noise and mush, not heaviness. Set gain at 7–8, keep some midrange (don't scoop it to zero or you vanish in a mix), tighten the bass, and use a noise gate. A boost pedal in front tightens the low end further.
Floods — Pantera · Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love — Van Halen · Aerials — System of a Down · November Rain — Guns N' Roses · Paranoid — Black Sabbath · Basket Case — Green Day · Mayonaise — The Smashing Pumpkins · Holy Diver — Dio · Ride the Lightning — Metallica · Dead! — My Chemical Romance