'It's Easy to F---ing Miss' - What Gary Holt Loves Most About Slash

Exodus and Slayer guitarist Gary Holt offered praise for Slash in a recent episode of the Appetite for Distortion podcast, sharing some of his favorite things about the top-hatted guitarist's technique.

But first, Holt reflected on the time he saw Guns N' Roses play an intimate show at the Warfield in San Francisco — one of three warm-up gigs the rockers played before embarking on the massive Use Your Illusion world tour.

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What Did Gary Holt Say About Slash and Guns N' Roses?

"I saw them when they did a one-off, super rad show at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco. That was many years ago, and they went on hours late," Holt recalled. "I think they went on around midnight and doors were like at f---ing 8 o'clock. They were f---ing awesome, they were great. I was young, and the Warfield theater — my manager at the time, Bill Graham, owned the building — so I had a string of drink tickets about four feet long. So I was partying, having a good time."

Holt also had no shortage of nice things to say about Slash's guitar skills and demeanor. "Slash is the nicest guy I've ever met," he enthused. "I've met him over the years a couple times with Slayer and he's always been really nice to me. And I'm still shocked if anybody even knows who I am. I have no idea. My guitar tech teched for him when he did that thing with Bear McCreary. [Slash played on the composer's 2024 song "The End of Tomorrow."] ... And Slash paid me a huge compliment. That's awesome."

The two guitarists briefly crossed paths at Ozzy Osbourne's Back to the Beginning farewell concert last summer. "When I saw him at Back to the Beginning, he was walking one way from the stage and he stopped to say hi and caught my attention," Holt said. "I didn't want to bother anybody. And he's just awesome. He's one of my favorite guitar players. His intonation is perfect. He's always perfectly in key with his solos."

Holt elaborated on his last point: "Bending notes, it's easy to f---ing miss that landing note. And intonation is everything. And I try to take that from his playing 'cause I'm the king of overbending. Just keep going. Bend it up more and you'll eventually find a note."

Will Slayer Release More Music With Gary Holt?

Holt has played a handful of shows with Slayer since 2024, following the thrash legends' retirement from touring in 2019. But he insisted the band has no plans to release new music or embark on a full-length tour.

"We came back for some shows and we were really good," he said. "We worked really hard to get there. We hadn't played in years. And we had fun, and the vibe was great. And I think under those circumstances, I think that was the most important thing: Is everybody gonna have a great time and do this?"

He added: "It's a take-it-by-year thing, whether we do a couple of shows — one show, two, three a year, who knows? But it's cool 'cause a whole generation that never got to see it get the chance to see it. And as long as we're having fun, maybe we'll continue."

See where Gary Holt and Slash both land on our list of the 75 best rock + metal guitarists of all time: