Tomas Lindberg, the vocalist of the Swedish thrash band At The Gates, died at the age of 52 from cancer. He was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) at the end of 2023. It is a rare, slow-growing cancer that develops in the salivary glands of the head and neck. He had a surgery that removed a big part of the roof of his mouth. He had undergone radiation treatment, but now the cancer started to grow again, and he couldn’t survive.

At The Gates released on August 15th a message written from Tomas in March 2025. He wrote about his diagnosis, about the operation and the treatment after it, and that in August the doctors found a remnant of the cancer that cannot be treated. He said that he is happy that the vocals for the new album are recorded. “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 (‘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.”

At The Gates wrote on the social media: 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.