Punk is OK previews three new tracks from Violent Affair's "Cockroach Theory"

I was lucky enough to get a preview of three upcoming album tracks from Oklahoma City punk band Violent Affair, two of which are unreleased anywhere. “Cockroach Theory” is the upcoming album that many punks and former punk radio DJs have been waiting years for. The band’s first album “Stand Trial” showed promise, their most recent single “A Call to Arms” and EP “The Pressure is Rising” showed the talent was there; “Cockroach Theory” seems to be the sign that everything is coming together for the band. I listened to all three of the songs a few times. Here are my first thoughts.

“Destroy Society” is one song that has been available online for a while, but I have to admit that I only really listened to it a couple times. After listening to it again, it surprised me how pogo-y it is. The lead guitar winds up and down the root notes as the rhythm guitarist provides a catchy riff. Dave’s street punk style vocals seem a little out of place when you first hear the song, but the more I listen to it the more I feel like it works for this spikey sing-along. One thing this song reminds me of is how much I like the interplay of vocals on recent Violent Affair releases. The variety of voices makes it feel like the gangs all here.

The next track I opened was the unreleased title track “Cockroach Theory”. The song intros with a stutter that reminds me of “Generator” era Bad Religion, and jumps into the steady street punk beat backed by Ryan’s no-bullshit drumming. The politically charged punk winds up and down in tempo before ending abruptly. This song feels straightforward at first, but the second time through, you start to notice all of the space in this song. The guitars, vocals, beat, and bass all go in and out to give the song a really different feel than your standard street punk track. Harmonized guitar solos and riffs make it a little reminiscent of the metal influence in old VA tracks. It is pretty easy to understand why this is the title track.

As a bassist, I am a sucker for a simple bass and drums intro. “Stronger Than Before” gives me a tingling feeling within the first 2 bars. Zach’s bass riff just sounds mean, I don’t know how else to put it. The line isn’t anything technical, but the tone and notes just make me want to clinch my fists. This track is probably the most recognizably Violent Affair sounding of the three I have, but it still has its share of breaks, guitar riffs with space between notes (ie not just constant strumming), and winding solos. The aspect that stands out for this track is the gang vocals. I can see the fists being raised live every pre-chorus.

These are just three songs from “Cockroach Theory” but they really show a developing sound for Violent Affair. Violent Affair has added a bit of originality to the street punk scene. It almost feels a little risky to step away from something that has been proven to get people moving, but the added creativity and variety in their emerging sound works. With these tracks, and plenty more that I haven’t got a chance to hear yet, I think Violent Affair is starting to come into their own. With the talent there, the songwriting solid, and the studs aplenty, who knows how far these guys can go.

Interview: Violent Affair's "The Pressure is Rising"

When you hear anyone talking about street punk in Oklahoma, the name Violent Affair usually comes up (or at least some variation including a “The” or an “A” at the beginning). The band has gained quite a bit of national notoriety, and even has some international fans. They have toured all over the country, and played with some mainstays of the punk scene.

Unfortunately, Violent Affair runs into the same problem that seems to plague other Oklahoma bands like The Dirty Mugs and The Last Slice; they have not released a full length in about three years. In 2012 they signed to Jailhouse Records, a punk label out of Virginia that has also released bands like Pinkerton Thugs, The Scarred, and Tenebrae. Soon after signing, they released “A Call to Arms” a 7” single that signals good things for the bands future releases.

This June, the OKC punks will release “The Pressure is Rising”, an EP which will lead up to the release of their next full length. I got a chance to chat with Zach, bassist for the band, about the release and their upcoming tour with The Casualties.

PiOK: Your sound has changed a lot from Stand Trial. How has it evolved on "The Pressure is Rising"?

Zach: I think the most interesting thing about following punk rock bands is seeing how they change and evolve over the years. I think we've grown as musicians from playing together all the time. The music definitely pushes different aspects of punk rock that we liked a lot but couldn't express as well before. The good answer is we're angrier than we used to be.

PiOK: What are you angrier about?

Zach: (Laughs) Lots of things. More specifically, other than the blitz cover none of these songs are necessarily upbeat. Each song is kind of about a different issue that really was fucking with us be it a personal song like “No Way Out”, or a kind of rally song like “A Call to Arms”. “Social Disease” is the track we did for “Punk Aid: Indonesia”, “Dead End Nights” is a preview of what kind of stuff is to come for our follow up full length "The Cockroach Theory"

(Check out Dead End Nights, which will appear on "The Pressure is Rising")

PiOK: What made you guys want to cover "Someone's Gonna Die?" What was it like recording it?

Zach: We all love blitz. We got drunk and recorded it. Jesse almost knocked over a really nice microphone.

PiOK: This EP is leading up to your next album. Was it recorded at the same time?

Zach: It was. These are all tracks we did in the mean time for various EPs and compilations

PiOK: So can we expect the sound, not just recording quality but also songwriting, to be a good indicator to what the new album sounds like?

Zach: Definitely. This is a good definite mix of what Violent Affair is doing now. It's more than it used to be.

PiOK: I’d like to switch gears a bit. You're getting ready to head out on tour with The Casualties. How did that come to be?

Zach: We've played with The Casualties a few times now and throughout our growing-up as a band they've been super helpful. They supported us and helped to get our name out and were just all around awesome dudes. They hit us up last month asking if we wanted to do a stint with them around the U.S. and we were like...how are we gonna turn that down? (laughs)

PiOK: No doubt. Now that you have this big tour and upcoming releases, where are you hoping to take the band? How far do you have to go before you consider yourselves successful?

Zach: As far as success goes, I think we're happy with where we're at right now. We all started out as young kids who wanted to be in a punk rock band. Now we get to do that and people are showing up and having a good time. We just want to spread the message to as many people as possible. We'll keep doing this until someone shuts us up, I guess.

PiOK: Thanks for taking time to chat. I just have one more very serious question. What is your current stud count?

Zach: Current stud count is approximately 250 including 2 belts and a vest. It's a casual afternoon.

PiOK: “The Pressure is Rising” is scheduled to release in June on Jailhouse Records. “The Cockroach Theory” is scheduled to come out later this year. Check out a video of them playing Blitz at The Conservatory in Oklahoma City.

New Music: Combat Crisis "No Division"

Combat Crisis just posted a new song called "No Division" from their upcoming album "System Rats" which you can check out below.



Combat Crisis are a street punk band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The new album is supposed to drop by the end of the month. They will also be playing in Tulsa this summer at the Fuck You, We Rule, OK festival.