You may remember that in our June 2009 issue we ran a competition to win a Yamaha Oak X Custom kit, plus tickets to the Download Festival and the opportunity to meet Justin Foley from Killswitch Engage.

The lucky winner was 18-year-old Alex Young from Halesowen. Alex was presented with his personalised Killswitch Engage Yamaha Oak X Custom drum kit by Justin at the Download Festival where Killswitch Engage performed a stunning set to a sun-drenched, sell-out audience.

The competition, run in conjunction with Rhythm magazine and Metal Hammer magazine offered readers a unique opportunity to win the actual drum kit played by Justin at the festival with full VIP access. A record-breaking 20,000 fans and drummers entered via text and on-line reflecting the popularity of the 'money can't buy' aspect and the unique  nature of the Yamaha kit.


Competition winner Alex Young with
his drm hero Justin Foley
 
Alex told us: "Only when I pulled into Donington Park's VIP camping area did I realise I had actually won a competition entered by thousands. Seeing Killswitch Engage play for the first time and later meeting their drummer Justin Foley was unreal. I have been an avid Killswitch fan for many years, firstly picking up Alive Or Just Breathing and loving the record from start to finish. Killswitch have since delivered astounding album after astounding album. Justin's playing is immense. He has such a dynamic and varied approach which fits perfectly with Killswitch's ethos. This summer I was planning on buying a kit as I am learning to play, but now I have an awesome setup to experiment and learn with."
 
Yamaha's Gavin Thomas comments: "Even with such a great prize we were staggered by the reader response to our competition and by the level of anticipation for Killswitch Engage's new album and Download performance. It provided a great opportunity to promote the new Oak Custom X drum kit to such a huge audience and our website has seen unprecedented activity since."