Hailing from Sweden, NESTOR is a relatively new band that is coming up with an amazing debut album. “Kids In A Ghost Town” is a comeback to the ‘80s sound. Fans of melodic hard rock and A.O.R will appreciate it. So, Heavy Metal Fire reached out Tobias Gustavsoon, vocalist, songwriter and producer for the new melodic sensation.
-Hi, thanks for your time! First off, how did NESTOR come together? How did you guys meet and decided to form this band?
Hi! Thanks! Yeah, so the five of us are childhood friends who grew up together in a small town in Sweden, called Falköping. Me and Jonny, the guitar player got to know each other and started to bond over music and eventually we asked the other guys if they wanted to form a band, and that’s kind of how it all started!
-So the band actually started back in 1989. Why have we had to wait more than three decades for your debut album? What have you been doing in the meantime?
Haha, well the band kind of stopped being active after a couple of years. We never broke up, we never disbanded, it just kind of faded away around 1995, sort of how the 80s era of music got overshadowed by grunge, you know. By that time, we had all relocated to Gothenburg and eventually someone moved back home, someone started studying and it all was kind of put on hold. But we stayed friends and kept in touch. Me and Jonny played together in a couple of other projects and bands, one called ITCHYCOO, another band called STRAIGHT FRANK. All of us have continued to play music in one way or another through the years, and aside from that everyone has day jobs too. One of us is a policeman even! No priests though, haha!
-What’s behind the name “Nestor”?
All of us in the band really liked Tintin comics when we were growing up, and Nestor is the name of Captain Haddock’s butler. It can also refer to an elder, someone wise that’s been around and knows a lot. The older, experienced one. Kind of like us, haha!
-Watching the Keep It True Rising presentation video, I noticed Oliver Weinsheimer said that “Kids In A Ghost Town” was the best A.O.R. of the last 10 or maybe 20 years, and I think that too! What have you thought of the reception for the album so far?
Yeah! Wow, thanks!!! The response has been amazing, totally amazing really. We kind of knew that we had made a really good album, at least we thought so ourselves. But you never know how it will be received beforehand. But luckily people seem to really like it, and we are super happy and super proud!
-There is definitely an eighties feel and sound to the band. What was the inspiration behind taking that angle?
The inspiration kind of came out of the pandemic and the lockdown and all the uncertainty and craziness going on in the world. I was sitting at home playing by the piano, playing around with songs from the 80s, thinking back to those more innocent, simpler times when we were young, growing up in a small town, dreaming of becoming world famous rock stars. Then it hit me that we should kind of metaphorically go back in an imaginary time machine, to that time and place, and make that album that we didn’t have the resources or the skills to do back then, but that we do now!
-Was the material on “Kids In A Ghost Town” all freshly written or did it date back several years?
All of it is newly written. There is one song, the last one on the album, that was written a couple of years back and dusted off, but everything has been created in recent times so to say, but with inspiration from the past!
-Do you have any unreleased material from the “Kids In A Ghost Town” sessions?
We had a couple of embryos floating around and a bit more material than what ended up on the album to pick and choose from, but we’ll save those ideas for maybe later, we’ll see!
-Is the album only available on CD? Or is there a vinyl version as well? Where can our readers find more information about the band anyway?
Right now, it’s only available on CD, although we sold out for a bit! Super fun, but some people have had to wait a bit to get their copies, sorry about that. We didn’t quite expect that level of demand. But a lot of people have been asking for a vinyl version and it’s coming! Soon! Early next year! Regarding info, well, maybe someone can write about us on Wikipedia? Haha! This interview should be a good source of info maybe? Aside from that, you can always follow us on our social media channels and write to us. We try to answer everything that people write and ask and comment!
-What can you tell us about the Andreas Carlsson’s cooperation in some of the tracks?
I know Andreas from working with him before, and I knew that this would be right up his alley, since he’s a big fan of KISS and this whole 80s era of melodic rock. He co-wrote lyrics with us on a couple of songs, and he wrote the lyrics to "Stone Cold Eyes" on his own.
-Speaking of “Tomorrow”, I read that Lita Ford was your first choice, but it couldn't be. How you ended up getting Samantha Fox to guest on “Tomorrow” and what would be the third option if Sam hadn't been able to do it?
Exactly, we never got a response from Lita or her people. Then the idea came that Samantha Fox would be a perfect fit, so I just contacted her management, sent them the song and our first videos to show what the whole thing was about. She loved the song and said yes! What the third option would have been… I don’t know really! The song was always intended to be a duet, so maybe it wouldn’t have made the album this time, who knows? Luckily it all worked out!
-Marta Gabriel sang that song with you at the Keep It True Rising festival. How did the idea for this collaboration come about?
We’ve had this crazy idea to maybe use a different female vocalist for each concert, someone local, talented whenever we play live in different places. This time around Oliver and the people behind the festival helped out and suggested Marta as she was going to be at the festival anyway. And it worked out great! Next time, someone else might fill the role! We will see!
-Well, one more about the festival. Why weren’t you included in the list of bands that we could enjoy streaming?
Well, this was only our second gig, not ever, but since we’ve restarted the band, after our release gig in October. We knew that we would be coming to the festival site on the same day, just hours before playing, and we knew that we might not have all the control of the whole situation that we might have wanted to. Not to say that we wouldn’t deliver a great show, we hope and think we did, but going in blind like that, we kind of felt that maybe it could wait a bit before having one of our gigs live streamed and broadcasted. So that we have the chance to really make it great! Because when it comes to NESTOR, we want to make sure everything is top notch, you know!
-You released three videos ("On The Run" , "1989" and "Tomorrow" ), prior to the album release. Which one were the most fun to shoot and why?
Oh, all of them really. The first one was super fun, just to get back to it all. Then for “1989”, we kind of were a bit warmed up and everything. And when it came to “Tomorrow” it was super fun with Sam and everything, but also a bit nerve-wrecking because of all the logistics and everything. Just getting Sam over to Sweden, with the pandemic and travel restrictions and all, phew! But it all worked out! All the video shoots have been great!
-How important are your costumes and image to your music?
Well, they’re part of the package, so pretty important I would say. In the end, everything comes down to the music and the songs of course, that’s the most important part. But we want the whole thing to be a great experience, both visually and sonically and everything, with all the details and stuff. Kind of like how really good set design and props and wardrobe can help actors to really deliver a performance! It helps us to up our game sort of!
-Are you going to film more videos to promote the album?
Maybe, we’ll see. There’s a lot that goes in to making them, both economically and planning and stuff. So it’s not like we can just throw another one out there! So nothing in the works that I can promise here and now, but we’ll see…
We have been talking to different potential partners, but for us the most important thing is to have a collaboration that builds on the same passion and understanding of this whole concept that we have. So we’re just biding our time until we find the perfect fit. Not just a business partner with a lot of contacts and power, but someone who gets it and loves it as much as we do!
-I’m curious about the dragons in the cover artwork. Tell me about it.
Hey, who doesn’t love dragons? Haha, maybe the people of King’s Landing ;) I mean, what screams 1980s heavy metal more than fire and dragons, right? Maybe Dio himself haha!
-All of you kind of worked with music in one way or another. Do any of the bandmembers have any side projects or bands?
Everyone has or has had other stuff on the side, but right now, it’s more or less all about NESTOR I would say!
-Being from Sweden, how is the rock/metal scene there compared to the rest of the world?
Well, the music scene in general has always been really healthy in Sweden, with a lot of great artists and bands both then and now, and song writers etc. I think success kind of feeds itself, so if there is a band or an artist that succeeds in a part of the world, it kind of inspires others that maybe they can make it too. So if ABBA are from Sweden and are one of the biggest acts on the planet, then maybe that gives other Swedes the inspiration to succeed. The same goes all the way down to the different genres, so if there are rock and metal bands popping up and going places, that kind of feeds back to the scene. And I would say that the rock community in Sweden is and has always been strong!
-I read you’re joining H.E.A.T in February on their Scandinavian tour! What’s next for NESTOR? Tobias, you live in Spain nowadays, any possibility to play in our country in the near future?
Yeah anytime man! Closer for me to get home! Haha! No but seriously, we want to get out and play everywhere where people want to come see us. Including, and maybe especially España! We have quite a few live dates and more are added by the minute! We’re supporting some Swedish friends at home this winter, then there are summer festivals and other stuff and some that I can’t share right now, but stay tuned…!!!
-What would you like a new fan of NESTOR to know about you if they couldn’t Google?
That we are true fans and lovers of the 80s music that we play and that we’re on a mission to restore the glory of rock!
-Name ten of your favourite albums of all time.
KISS – Animalize, Asylum, Crazy Nights (can’t
choose just one…)
VAN HALEN – 5150
EUROPE – Out of This World
BON JOVI – New Jersey
QUEENSRŸCHE – Operation: Mindcrime
GIANT – Last of The Runaways
TWISTED SISTER – Stay Hungry
BRYAN ADAMS – Waking Up the Neighbours
DEF LEPPARD – Hysteria
MOTLEY CRÜE – Theatre of Pain
-Thank you very much for your time! Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Muchas gracias and thank you all you Nestorians out there for all the love and support!
Diego González.
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