Hi,
Never met someone that played a Tone Zone and thought "bright", curious.
![Cheesy :D](https://www.dimarzioforum.com/forum/Smileys/default/cheesy.gif)
At any rate, at the very early, 'tallica actually used Invaders (not very known, I think), then they switched to 81/60 set (Hetfield) and 81/81 set (Hammett). If that's the sound you're looking for, then I have to repeat the fine gentlemen before me on getting an EMGs.
Indeed, if you don't wanna hassle with the batteries etc D-Activators have that "active" stiff feel to them, they're also incredibly tight, just like an 81.
As for which Duncans, well Blackouts are Duncan's take on the active pickups, with some fiddling (dialing out some mids, they have aplenty compared to your typical 81), you can get a very similar sound. I also liked Dave Mustaine Livewires for trash when I tried them out in my buddy's guitar, which is like a JB on steroids.
As for the X2N, I wouldn't personally go there if you like the sound of the EMGs, X2N have a very specific sound which is unlike the active pickups (or most passive pickups, for that matter), and it's either a love-it-or-hate-it.
Lastly, if you're after those tones, you probably wanna use far less gain then you might think you would need, and to tighten the sound up even further, use an OD pedal set to boost (without drive).
HTH,
Cory