In the late eighties, Slash almost single-handedly slew the shred
phenomenon, reminding guitarists that hard rock was invented by Page and
Beck, not Paganini and Bach. With his rebellious, street-tough image and
down-dirty playing style, Slash became a hard-rock guitar icon, playing
raunchy riffs and aggressive, blues-inspired leads that flattened legions
of shred virtuosos like a permed poodle haircut in a rainstorm. "All the
advanced rock guitar players made things really complicated," says Slash.
"I wasn't intimidated by any of that shit, ever. My basic root come from a
certain hard-rock background. You can do a million things with that."

    Slash's playing showed a new generation of guitarists that emotion is
as important as chops, paving the way for the emergence of grunge and the
nineties punk rock revival. In the midst of Strat mania in the Eighties, he
revived interest in the Les Paul. Although Slash is often pigeonholed as a
hard rocker, he has made guest appearances on records by a diverse range of
artists, including Iggy Pop, Alice Cooper, Paul Rodgers, Carole King and
Michael Jackson.