The main thing imo is don't turn the distortion up too much. If you do that it tends to get whiny and lacks the deep visceral growl you're probably looking for. If you listen to artists like Randy Rhoads or Disturbed or John 5 from Marilyn Manson they're as heavy as you'll ever need and you can still hear every note they play perfectly.

And it could be something like your pickups. Some pickups just can't rock, others can scare little kids with next to no fx.