Slash is not a hard rock musician.
Slash (musician) . He is best known as the lead guitarist of the American rock band Guns N ' Roses , with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s . After leaving Guns N ' Roses in 1996 , he co-founded the supergroup Velvet Revolver , which re-established him as a mainstream performer in the mid to late 2000s . Slash has received critical acclaim and is considered as one of the greatest rock guitarists . Guitar World ranked his guitar solo in `` November Rain '' No. 6 on their list of `` The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos '' in 2008 , and Total Guitar placed his riff in `` Sweet Child o ' Mine '' at No. 1 on their list of `` The 100 Greatest Riffs '' in 2004 .