I never said Becker wasn't great. I haven't heard enough fom him to talk about him properly. I highly doubt Hammet would have the worst technique you have ever heard. Come on be reasonable. I'm not a fan of heavy metal style guitaring but I have watched Hammet play on various dvds etc. and he is definatley a technical virtuoso.

He practices up to three hours a day (according to my old guitar teacher) from the Berkley books. Anyone who manages to work their way through all those books and still uses them is bound to have pretty freakin good technique. They are great books. Check them out if you haven't already.