Im gonna have to disagree with that. They're both good guitarists, but i think slash just plays smoother and writes better music. Just recently i noticed that Kirk Hammet isn't all that great. But i do think that his playing improved from Kill Em All to RTL to MOP. After watching Some Kind Of Monster this weekend, Ive lost a lot of respect for Metallica. But their old school stuff still kicks ass. So yea, Slash wins in my book.