HOON, a hardcore band formed at Hillcrest High has been taking the Waikato by storm
HOON, consisting of Taylor Neal (Vocals) Chris Collett (Drums) Henare Snowling (Lead Guitar) Harry Gillies (Rhythm Guitar) and Ethan Collins (Bass) started under the name Collision around the end of 2023 when members (Chris, Taylor, Henare, and Ethan) would get together to form a band for an annual end-of-year concert at Hillcrest High School. They played cover songs by The Ramones and Faith No More, until it came time for the 2024 Rockquest, when they changed their name to HOON and began writing original material.
After competing in Smokefree Rockquest in 2024, they captured the attention of Sara, owner of underground Hamilton music venue Mesoverse. She offered the band a few gigs, and since then, the gigs have continued to come, right up until this year’s 2025 Regional Rockquest finals.
HOON plays around with genres, but stays in the realm of hardcore as the base genre for their sound. Elements of Thrash Metal and Metalcore are used, as well as some elements of Melodic Hardcore and Post Rock are used to add melody and create a more mellow atmosphere.
HOON is passionate about the creative community in Hamilton and beyond and write songs covering the issues that they find important in the world. Taylor Neal (vocalist) made a statement at the beginning of their set at the Rockquest Regional Heats, in an effort to spread awareness to the importance of the venues such as Mesoverse for not just Hamilton music, but the Hamilton youth creative community at large.
This year they competed in Smokefree Rockquest again, where they won first place and will now have to submit their original music for a chance to perform at the Smokefreerockquest National Final. We wish them the best of luck for the next round of the competition.
