The erstwhile Guns N' Roses guitarist and all-round rock legend on frontmen, mixing with the crowd and headlining at Donington
Slash: 'I have fond memories of getting into the moshpit'. Photograph: Dean Chalkley Dean Chalkley/Dean Chalkley

What's the best thing about playing festivals?

If the crowd is really geared up to see you and familiar with the material they can be completely insane, and that's the fun of the whole thing. You go into a particular song and they're like an army of rabid dogs just losing their minds. That's pretty exciting.

Do you ever go out and mingle with the punters yourself?

I've only done that once, at Glastonbury, by mistake. My security guard and I mistook the backstage area for the front. The next thing we were in the midst of the ticket-buying public, which was an interesting experience.

Did you get a whiff of that full-on Glasto craziness?

At that point it was relatively mellow. We made the correction quickly, regardless! Although I always thought it would be cool to dress in some sort of disguise and go wandering around the crowd.

Do you still remember what it was like to go to big rock shows as a fan?

I remember what it's like to be squeezed into the first 10 rows when a massive band comes on. Everyone's pushing to the front and it's such a sweaty congestion that you can't escape even if you want to – you're there for the duration. I remember having a great time getting into moshpits and all kinds of crazy stuff. I have fond memories of all that, but I have no desire to take my chances again.

You're playing Download again this year. It must be a favourite for you.

This will be my fifth appearance at Donington, if you include Monsters of Rock, but it's the first time I've headlined a stage. I'm really looking forward to it.

What can we expect from your set?

I can't tell you exactly but I know it's gonna be pretty fucking rocking. We're going to do a lot of stuff off my new record, plus a mish-mash of stuff from my back catalogue, whether that's Guns or Velvet or Snakepit or whatever.

How does your singer, Myles Kennedy, compare to the other frontmen you've played with?

I don't compare them. They're all very different personalities. Myles is a perfectionist and he always goes out there and delivers 100%.

Myles stood in for Axl Rose when Guns N' Roses were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recently. How did that work out?

He did a fantastic job. It was something he wasn't sure about – he turned it down when I first mentioned it because he felt uncomfortable being pitched into a potential conflict. But he did a bang-up job. There were a lot of mixed feelings going into the day, but it turned out to be a really fulfilling experience.

You're playing the Gods of Metal festival in Italy the day after Axl's current Guns N' Roses lineup. Does that provide an addition frisson?

I haven't really thought about it yet, but I'm sure it will be interesting!

Slash plays Download, Gods of Metal and Hultsfred. His new album, Apocalyptic Love, is out now