In a recent interview, Napalm Death bassist Shane Embury opened up about the tragic loss of his longtime friend and Lock Up bandmate, founding At The Gates vocalist Tomas “Tompa” Lindberg. The iconic frontman passed away in September 2025 at the age of 52 following a battle with a rare form of cancer.
Speaking with Stefan Nilsson of “Roppongi Rocks“, Shane Embury reflected on their decades-long bond and Tomas Lindberg‘s massive, undeniable impact on the Swedish death metal movement.
“Well, Tomas, he’s been my close friend, I suppose, since about 1996. He was … He still feels like he’s here, really, for me. So, how long is that? 30 years, I think. But I first met him in 1989 at a Napalm Death show. And then I met him briefly again in 1994, when At The Gates released Terminal Spirit Disease, I think it was. But he was a really important person for the scene. He used to have a couple of beers and he would tell people, ‘Oh, yeah, I invented the Gothenburg [Sweden metal] scene.’ He was doing it tongue in cheek, but I sort of believe he did, to be honest. But we used to talk a lot. And strangely enough, on the last few releases, he would always send me the lyrics to read. I don’t know why. He would say, ‘Does this make sense in English?’ I’m, like, ‘Well, yes, it’s fine.’ And occasionally there’d be different things, different wordings, but I thought that was better, in a way. But I don’t know why he always sent it. Because we used to have a similar kind of lyrical approach, I think. When we used to write together in Lock Up, we would be quite philosophical, in a way,” he shared (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
Discussing their shared lifestyle and emotional connection within the extreme metal community, Shane continued:
“[Tomas was a] very deep thinker. And, of course, being in the heavy metal scene, it’s an extreme world. If you’re disciplined, unlike me, and probably unlike Tompa too, we’d drink, we’d party and get crazy. And a lot of people in the metal scene are like-minded individuals. We come together. It’s almost like we’re almost like shamans — whatever you wanna call it, really. We sort of channel these emotions. So he was a good friend. And it was very sad [when he died]. Really, really sad.”
Tomas Lindberg‘s health struggles began in December 2023 when he was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC), an aggressive and rare cancer affecting the salivary glands. He underwent major surgery to remove a large portion of the roof of his mouth and completed radiation treatments. Despite being on a positive path to recovery, doctors discovered traces of the cancer returning in early 2025. Following an undisclosed medical setback in May 2025, his At The Gates bandmates announced that August that the singer was receiving around-the-clock hospital care.
To honor his memory, At The Gates recently released their new studio album, The Ghost Of A Future Dead, on April 24 via Century Media Records. Serving as the direct follow-up to 2021’s The Nightmare Of Being, the special release acts as a touching tribute and features Tomas Lindberg‘s final vocal performances, which were captured as demo recordings prior to his initial surgery in 2024.
At The Gates have also reached a historic milestone, claiming the No. 1 position on their home country’s official album chart with the same album. The highly anticipated record also dominated the charts across specific formats, debuting at No. 1 on the Swedish physical, vinyl, and hard rock charts.
