Don’t Look Behind! by Ghost Bastards
Released 27/02/2020 by Ghost Bastards
Reviewed 24/12/2021 by Brandon Anderson (www.rockabillyrarities.com)
Don’t Look Behind! Is the latest EP from punked-up psychobilly cats Ghost Bastards, coming at you direct from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Featuring Marshall D. Monster on guitar, Nicky Lugosi on Bass, and Nicolas Szys on drums.
“Don’t Look Behind!” is a wild and dark romp of an intro track that is also the EP’s namesake song. Thick basslines and crisp guitar riffs accompany gritty vocals, transporting you to a grimy atmosphere and setting the perfect vibe to kick things off. This song has an old school sensibility while still sounding fresh and original. It also has a great music video treatment to add to the creepy factor.
“Burn the Witch” sticks to the hard-driving sound of “Don’t Look Behind!” And kicks things up a notch further with punk influenced drums and twangy guitar riffs to keep some rockabilly flavor while staying true to the bands stomping psychobilly sensibility. It keeps things in a dark place but increases the overall mood, somehow setting you up perfectly for the next audio assault!
“Wreckin’ Like a T-rex” is the most “old school” sounding track on the EP, with the Bastards opting to go with more of a classic rockabilly sound than the typical hard-driving psychobilly assault common with Ghost Bastards songs. A familiar Jurassic hook will definitely have this one getting stuck in your head on repeat throughout the day!
“Bastard’s Dance” again sticks with the more traditional rockabilly sounds present in “Wreckin’ Like a T-rex” creating a rhythm heavy dance floor friendly track that would fit in at any old school record hop. The fast hands of bassist Nicky Lugosi create the perfect rhythmic backdrop for this short but sweet dance track
“Heart Of Stone” Starts off with some fantastic bass licks that quickly descend into the depths of psychobilly hell, accompanied by furious guitar and drums beats reintroducing us to the Ghost Bastards hard driving psychobilly sound. More gravely vocals perfectly frame this disparate tale. Another short and sweet outing that quickly gets its point across!
“Sick Psychopath” is the darkest sounding track on Don’t Look Behind but it seems to be the perfect sum of all of the parts that make up this unique release, bringing things together full circle and closing out on the same creepy vibe we encountered on the intro/title track. “Sick Psychopath” may feature our favorite guitar work of the release with clean crisp riffs over the hard driving rhythm backing that the Bastards always come correct with. Great closer that keeps you on the edge of your seat and fades off into oblivion.
Don’t Look Behind definitely gets our engines revving and is one to be a sure thing amongst fans of bands like the Meteors, The Quakes, Spunyboys, and similar acts. If you like that raw three-piece psychobilly sound, then this is one for you!
1. “Don’t Look Behind”
2. “Burn the Witch”
3. “Wreckin’ Like a T-rex”
4. “Bastard’s Dance”
5. “Heart Of Stone”
6. “Sick Psychopath”
