Few bands have witnessed the evolution of Athens’ punk and metal scenes across multiple decades. One of those few bands is Voice of Crows. The current lineup consists of vocalist Ray Houska, guitarist Jordan Stoddard and drummer Manny Gonzalez. Gonzalez and Houska met while studying at Ohio University in the early 2000s.
“We met over our interest in punk rock, hardcore punk, metal music, that sort of thing,” Houska said. “At that time we had a good, fun circle of friends (who) were all into that sort of thing and we enjoyed going to shows together, we were booking a lot of shows down here. Since then, we have always found a way to somehow play music together.”
Since college, the two have been mutually involved in numerous bands with a variety of lineups and names.
In 2015, the duo began focusing on making music with just a guitar, drums and vocals. This combination became what Voice of Crows is today, according to Gonzalez.
While making music together, Houska and Gonzalez have seen the punk scene in Athens undergo decades of change.
“When we were in college there were a lot of different metal and hardcore bands playing,” Gonzalez said. “It is definitely different now coming back to Athens but there’s still a lot of kids down to have fun and it’s more of a mixed crowd.”
According to Houska, the decline of punk and hardcore groups in Athens comes with both advantages and disadvantages for a group with a solidified niche in the genre.
"I really appreciate Athens even though we don’t have (a) large pool of local support to pull from for extreme genres of music, but that allows us to play with a broader range of diverse acts,” Houska said.
This broad range is not only confined to the crowd in Athens. Voice of Crows also performs and rehearses in Columbus, allowing them to experience differing energies across the state.
“The kids (in Columbus) are definitely more energetic and more down to dance and show their energy,” Gonzalez said. “Athens is a little more chill and everybody is there to vibe out and to hang, so it’s two different energies, but I love them both.”
Gonzalez and Houska made their definitive return to the Athens music scene in 2019, right around the time Stoddard joined the lineup of Voice of Crows.
“The energy was super fun,” Houska said. “The response was incredibly supportive. It was great to play with friends at the time, and then COVID kind of took the wind out of our sails.”
According to Houska, the trio has picked up steam again within the past year or so. The group's first album, “Cyber Demonstration,” was released on Spotify in January after recording with Neil Tuuri at Amish Electric Chair Studios.
The three musicians orbit each other in a sphere of adjacent subgenres. Houska finds himself influenced by 1980s UK stench, grind and death metal, while Gonzalez cites the influence of black metal on both his and Stoddard’s style.
“I just love the ugly style, things that might seem like it doesn’t go together but it does in some weird way,” Stoddard said. “(The music) has to be fast and punchy, but I still experiment within those boundaries. The style for Voice of Crows has become less neo-crust and more power violence meets black metal.”
Although there are challenges associated with this type of genre fusion, Stoddard enjoys the group's experimental process.
“My favorite (part) is it is a playground for me,” Stoddard said. “I think that’s the most fun because my brain comes up with whatever it wants to and I’m able to have a drummer that can keep up, it’s just very liberating.”
Gonzalez finds a similar joy through experimenting with songwriting and discovering new ways to fuse together the band members’ varying styles.
“I love writing music,” he said. “I like taking various styles of music and combining them and trying to find an interesting way to express all my different musical interests as much as possible.”
Another highlight for Gonzalez is working with his best friends.
Looking to the future, all three band members hope to continue playing for energetic crowds across Ohio and exploring different sounds.
“From where we started to where we are at now, we’ve come a long way as far as our abilities,” Gonzalez said. “I’d like us to keep developing as musicians and get better at our instruments and consequently make music that sounds awesome.”
