Update 9-16-2025

I’ve just returned home from work and heard the tragic news that Tomas Lindberg has died at age 52. I will have a post honoring his memory in the coming hours. That tribute post is now live and available to read here.

There were two pieces of significant news last week. One involved the announced farewell album and tour of Megadeth, which I covered yesterday. Today’s post regards pioneering melodic death metal act At The Gates, who announced a new album but also an ominous update.

At The Gates have been back at it for a long time now since reforming in 2008. They have released three studio albums in that span and toured extensively. Things with the band have been pretty quiet since 2021’s album The Nightmare Of Being. For those who don’t recall (everyone but me, I’m sure), that album was my pick for 2021 Album of the Year.

Sadly, we’ve found out why the band has been so quiet the past few years. Singer Tomas Lindberg announced last Friday that he has been in a battle with a rare form of oral cancer. This blabbermouth.net article outlines the issues. He underwent major surgery and radiation therapy for it, and a reoccurence of the cancer was found earlier this year. Lindberg has been largely isolated through this time due to his treatments, and this obviously affects his ability to perform.

Clearly it is troubling times in the At The Gates camp, and Lindberg has stated he will remain secluded and not give interviews or any further information regarding his illness or treatment. This does also preclude the band from being able to perform.

One thing it won’t hamper, though, is a new album release. The band have been working on things for a few years and have a series of demo takes Lindberg recorded before his cancer saga. The group had hoped to wait until Lindberg was on the mend to release new music but with this updated news, they will go ahead and release the new album.

The album is also significant in that it marks the return of guitarist Anders Björler, a founding member of the group who had departed in 2017. This reunites Anders with his twin brother, bassist Jonas. Everyone in the band and fans were all looking forward to Anders’ return.

The news about Tomas Lindberg is harrowing, and hopefully he will find eventual healing as he goes along. There is some solace in us getting a new At The Gates album, which at this time we don’t have any details or time frame for. It is hollow in comparison to a cancer battle, but all there really is to do is hope for the best, respect Lindberg’s wishes for privacy, and jam out to the new album when it arrives.