I bought this pickup for the use in a modded Ibanez RG I was putting together with the intention of using it for metal and hard rock and it has not disappointed!
Wired up with a push/pull to coil split and works really well for clean sections as well as pushed blues tones when split - and sounds awesome for high gain rhythm and lead, and if you're so inclined you could djent a bit too. I haven't used it in a studio but have many times in a live enviroment. I use a Fender Champ purely as a clean tone with a lot of gain on the floor and the notes are still clear and chords are fat and full bodied. The looks are equally good, definitely complements a relic'd finish such as mine.
I removed the neck and middle position pickups as well as the switch so I have no idea what this would sound like paired with other pickups, but it sounds brilliant to me. Would recommend. Installation was easy too if you've used a soldering iron before.