This technique has its roots in blues. By bending the string upward, Slash increases the tension and subsequently, the pitch of the note. In this example, Slash bends the B string upward from various notes in the E minor scale. The most frequent bend in the third solo is a whole-note bend, which increases the pitch of the note by an interval of one note, or two frets.
The bend release is very similar to the string bend, but Slash picks the note after the bend. This way, the upward modulation of the note pitch is not heard, but the release and downward modulation of pitch are very pronounced. At one point, at around 4.14 minutes into the track, he emulates the sound of bird-song by releasing and bending the string in rapid succession so that the note flutters up and down in pitch.
The pentatonic scale has five different notes, repeated across the fretboard. The scale provides a basic map for guitarists to navigate their across the fretboard in a familiar pattern. Slash takes what is typically a mundane series of notes and plays them at blistering speed. He doesn't simply run through the scale, ascending in pitch; he goes up, then down, then back up again through the scale to create a "stepped" melodic feel.
Legato is a technique more closely associated with the violin and cello than electric guitar. It involves a run of notes that are "tied" together in a smooth and fluid sequence. Slash uses legato to connect various blues phrases in the solo.
A trill a combination of two notes, played in rapid, alternating succession. By hammering his third finger down onto the strings two and sometimes three frets above his first finger, he creates an intense two-note pattern.
By holding his finger on a note, then sliding that finger along the fretboard toward the nut, Slash creates a distinctive dropping sound with his guitar. Right at the end of the song, as singer Axl Rose begins to draw out the final phrase "Sweet child of mine," Slash imitates his phrasing with a series of slow, expressive slides on the D string.