CASTLE DONINGTON, UNITED KINGDOM – JUNE 12: Frontman Tomas Lindberg of Swedish death metal group At The Gates performing live on the Main Stage at Download Festival, on June 12, 2015. (Photo by Olly Curtis/Total Guitar Magazine/Future via Getty Images)
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Tomas Lindberg, vocalist for the pioneering Swedish death metal band At The Gates, died at the age of 52, according to Swedish news outlet SVT.
Lindberg’s family confirmed on Monday to SVT Nyheter that Lindberg died. Last month Lindberg revealed he was battling adenoid cystic carcinoma, an aggressive form of cancer in the mouth and underwent treatment in May for a serious unspecified health setback.
At The Gates revealed the news of Lindberg’s treatment and health in August where they shared a personal message written by Lindberg that dated back to March 2025. The post provides context to the band’s silence over this last year, and gives an update on Lindberg’s health and their plans moving forward.
Tomas Lingberg’s Last Health Update
“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 pallet) 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 chemo therapy, 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 albums’ 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 (Slaughter of the Soul and At War with Reality).Hope you all will enjoy it!”
This Story Has Been Updated
At The Gates have commented on Tomas Lindberg’s passing with a post on their social media accounts:
“Tomas passed away this morning following complications related to his ongoing cancer treatment. Despite intensive medical efforts, his life could not be saved.
Tomas – You were an inspiration to us all. A true friend, both compassionate & sympathetic. You will always be remembered for your generosity and your creative spirit. You will be eternally missed. Forever in our hearts.”
At the Gates pioneered the melodic death metal sub-genre that became so widespread throughout the 1990s. The band’s signature battering riffs and Lindberg’s screeching vocals have become synonymous with the extreme metal genre. Slaughter of the Soul, the band’s 1995 magnum opus, is constantly hailed as one of the defining extreme metal albums, along with being one of the most influential metal albums of the last 30 years.
With the band confirming Lingberg had already finished recording vocals for the band’s new record, the next At The Gates LP will be a posthumous release for the legendary metal vocalist.