Wood is far less of a factor than pickups, but Basswood and Poplar are good choices because they're kind of neutral. I find Poplar to be a bit brighter than Basswood. Some people might describe them as bland woods, but they're so good if you're more pickup-dependent for your sound. All that nuance and wood character matters little for high-gain applications.
Ceramic pickups are so much easier to get metal tones from. I don't use high-output pickups but sometimes I get the urge to switch to them because I struggle to get satisfactory metal tones from mid output pickups which I always use. I just got a set of Aldrich pickups, but it's not my first time using them. I also have a Suhr DSH+ set in another strat. The Aldrich pickups are fantastic for high gain. The mids are a bit pulled back compared to a JB, but have better high mids and better overall low end than a JB. They definitely favor high gain, but of course if you want brootz, you gotta get a brootz bucker like some Bareknuckles or EMGs.
Also check into Dimarzios because they have a LOT of complex mids in their pickups, so even the mid-output pickups they offer do very well for scooped metal tones since the mids not cut out from your amp are fully retained. That's why you can usually scoop mids with Dimarzio pickups and still cut through nicely. The Aldrich isn't really like that, and probably more similar to the Duncan Pegasus, but I'm actually liking it a bit more than the Pegasus. They have a nice punchy feel to them too.
I think your Suhr is very much geared towards high-gain. Maybe it's your rig you should consider. Considering your guitar is basswood with a maple cap and maple neck, you should have a real nice upper mid presence and high end, so the Aldrich pickups will match real well, filling in the lows a bit, and giving you a warm but cutting neck pickup tone.
