JONAS BJÖRLER On The Future Of AT THE GATES: "We Are Not Sure About Anything Right Now"

Swedish melodic death metal pioneers At The Gates are preparing to release The Ghost Of A Future Dead on April 24 via Century Media Records, and bassist Jonas Björler has now reflected on the emotional weight behind the album.

The record serves as a tribute to founding frontman Tomas Lindberg, who passed away in September 2025 after battling adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare oral cancer he was diagnosed with in December 2023.

Speaking to Finland's Chaoszine, Jonas described Tomas's final months as a devastating emotional rollercoaster. "It's like with all the cancer diseases, it's always a rollercoaster ride. It's positive news and it's bad news. And we got positive news every other week and we got negative news every other week.

"So it was [up and down]. So it's really unsettling… The last month, from mid-August [2025] to mid-September [2025], the situation was really bad, because he had massive infections and stuff like that, so they couldn't really treat it. So we kind of knew that it was going in the wrong direction, for sure."

Most of the band — except drummer Adrian Erlandsson, who resides in the U.K. — were able to visit Lindberg in the hospital during his final days. "But he was in a really, really bad shape. It was really tough."

Despite the severity of his condition — including a major surgery that removed a large portion of the roof of his mouth and later radiation treatment — Lindberg remained determined to complete his vocal work for The Ghost Of A Future Dead.

"We entered the studio and started recording the music when Tomas actually had his first surgery. And he managed to sing all the vocal demos for all the songs. So that's what we used for the album… He did good versions or good takes in a studio in Gothenburg before the surgery."

Those vocal sessions were completed in late 2023 and early 2024, just before the band began recording in February 2024. According to Jonas, only a few tracks were unfinished when Tomas received the devastating news about the severity of his illness.

"The only thing that wasn't done when he got the terrible news, it was missing three or four songs that [weren't] recorded yet. So he just went to the studio and did it before the surgery, because he knew that was a very invasive surgery; they took half the jaw away. So he knew he couldn't sing or would have problems singing."

Though the album was fully mixed by June 2024, the band chose to delay its release, hoping Lindberg's health might improve.

"We all want it to get out now, I think, so people can hear it… I know Tomas was proud of it and wanted it to be released. So we just waited in case his situation would improve. So that's why we waited. But we could have released it one year ago. It was fully mixed in 2024, in June, it was already done, everything. So it's been there for one and a half years, all done… I heard [the songs] for so long now, [they are] feeling kind of old to me. But it's gonna be nice to hear people's reaction to it."

Jonas emphasized that Lindberg remained hopeful throughout his battle. "He was always positive about his chances of beating the cancer. And we all were. That's the only chance to survive it, I think, or get through it."

Musically, the album marks the return of guitarist Anders Björler and blends eras of the band's storied career. "If you like At War With Reality, you will like the new one, I think. There's a mixture of Slaughter Of The Soul, At War With Reality and some progressive elements of the last two."

As for celebrating Lindberg's life onstage, the band is still weighing its options. "Yeah, we haven't really discussed those things because we're gonna release the album first and then we'll see. Maybe some shows to celebrate him or something, but we are not sure about anything right now."