Yeah I guess I can see where you're coming from....
Hey, I had a possible brainstorm earlier as to why Josh's playing might seem so unique. This may sound stupid, or only apply to me, but where I come from at least (and I often hear guitarists in bigger bands mentioning this as an influence on their playing) it's custom for a lot of guitarists to take an interest in blues/hard rock when they're beginning to learn guitar, not B.B. King or anything like that, but Hendrix, Rory Gallagher and Slash, that kinda style.
Now this may sound really really stupid ,but I've never heard Josh mention any hard rock bands in that vein at all.
Thus a possible explanation for Josh's lack of unnecessary wailing over songs, and minimal use of bends? I find that many guitarists influenced by Slash or Hendrix often overdo the bending.
Or am I just really zoned out on this from lack of sleep?