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Tomas Lindberg, vocalist of pioneering Swedish death metal band At the Gates, has died at the age of 52. Lindberg’s family confirmed his passing to Swedish public service television company SVT Nyheter on Tuesday (September 16th).
In December 2023, Lindberg was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma — a rare slow-developing cancer of the minor salivary glands around the head and neck area. He then underwent surgery to remove a large portion of the roof of his mouth along with radiation treatments, though traces of the cancer were discovered by doctors earlier this year.
Lindberg was placed in long-term care following an undisclosed setback in May. Before that, in March, Lindberg penned a message to fans that was shared by his bandmates on August 15th:
“Hello everyone. I guess some of you may have been wondering why it has been so silent on the At the Gates front lately. Well, in December 2023, I was diagnosed with Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma (a cancer in the mouth and palate) and have since then gone through a lot, it has been a very tough year. First there was a major surgery, where they took away a big part of the roof of the mouth. This was followed by radiation therapy for two months, and ever since it has been a long hard path towards recovery. Now, in the beginning of 2025, they have found some remains of the cancer, and it is inaccessible by surgery or radiation. So, we will see what the next step is, but probably some form of chemotherapy, to keep the cancer in check.
Luckily, we recorded vocals for the demos for the new album before all of this happened. The last version of the vocals, the ones that will end up on the album, were recorded in ONE day, mostly one takes, the DAY before the surgery, just to make sure we HAD the album, so to speak. So the vocals were actually recorded BEFORE the rest of the album…. a bit different, but it felt good to have it done.
We have now decided to not wait any longer to release this new album. We had first planned to wait with the release until we knew if/when I would be able to sing again, and we were able to support the release with shows. Now when everything about the future is a bit more unsure it feels good to deliver this album. It is an album that we all are very proud of, and it’s the first time in 10 years that Jonas and I have worked together with Anders writing an album’s worth of music. It is a bit more of a return to the ‘roots’, probably best described as a mix between the two last albums we did with Anders [Björler] (‘Slaughter Of The Soul’ and ‘At War With Reality’). Hope you all will enjoy it!
Please respect that we don’t want to make a big thing about all this, and that I won’t be answering interviews concerning the cancer, the treatment or the recovery. We just wanted this to be out in the open, as we wanted to explain to our fans why we have been quiet for such a long time.
I hope you all are well. Take care of yourself, your loved ones and the time you have on this earth.”
Lindberg helped form At the Gates in 1990 alongside drummer Adrian Erlandsson and guitarists Anders Björler and Alf Svensson. After releasing the Gardens of Grief demo in 1991, the group dropped its 1992 debut The Red in the Sky Is Ours, which received acclaim for its progressive and melodic take on the Swedish death metal style.
At the Gates went on to release seven full-length studio albums in total, including the 1995 masterpiece Slaughter of the Soul, which was included in Consequence‘s 75 Best Metal Albums of All Time. The as-yet-unreleased album described by Lindberg in his letter would be the follow-up to 2021’s The Nightmare of Being.
While At the Gates themselves are not a metalcore band, their influence on the subgenre is monumental, with bands like Killswitch Engage, All That Remains, and As I Lay Dying owing a huge debt to the Swedish band.
Throughout his career, Lindberg also performed and recorded vocals with other acts including Grotesque, Liers in Wait, grindcore supergroup Lock Up, Nightrage, Skitsystem, Disfear, The Great Deceiver, and The Crown. Outside of music, Lindberg was an educator, teaching subjects such as English and social studies at the middle-school and high-school levels.
Our condolences go out to Tomas Lindberg’s family, friends, and bandmates during this difficult time. Revisit a live performance of “Slaughter of the Soul” below.
English (US) · 