Slayer and Exodus guitarist Gary Holt has shared a special message to former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore on Instagram. He celebrated Ritchie’s birthday, and described him as “Hero”.

Here’s the what he wrote:

“Happy birthday to my all time #1 guitarist, Ritchie Blackmore. Always my hero. The best. Gates of Babylon. Need I say more?”

A fan said:

“I thought Prince was your #1 🤔”

Gary responded:

“Musical hero”

Another fan wrote to Gary:

“Nice. Mine is Schenker 😊”

Gary replied:

“Number 2 for me!”

See the Instagram post of Gary below.