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\n\tTomas Lindberg, lead singer of influential Swedish metal favorites At the Gates<\/a>, has died after a battle with cancer. He was 52.<\/p>\n \n\tAt the Gates confirmed Lindberg\u2019s death on social media Tuesday, Sept. 16, writing: \u201cTomas passed away this morning following complications related to his ongoing cancer treatment. Despite intensive medical efforts, his life could not be saved.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe band continued: \u201cTomas \u2014 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWith his singular, deafening howl, Lindberg helped put At the Gates at the forefront of Gothenburg, Sweden\u2019s melodic death metal revolution. The group formed in 1990 and quickly established themselves as an underground favorite, especially upon the release of their 1992 debut, The Red in the Sky Is Ours<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n\tAt the Gates worked at a swift clip, releasing three more albums over the next three years. Their 1994 effort, Terminal Spirit Disease<\/em>, helped raise their profile beyond Sweden, while 1995\u2019s Slaughter of the Soul<\/em> was labeled their masterwork. (The LP landed at Number 79 on Rolling Stone<\/em>\u2019s list of the 100 Greatest Metal Albums<\/a>.)\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tRecalling the band\u2019s aims when they went into record Slaughter of the Soul, Lindberg told Revolver in 2018, \u201cWe set out to make an album as good as Bonded by Blood from Exodus or Slayer\u2019s Reign in Blood. We never expected to get even close, but thought that if this was our aim, then we might get about halfway. There were loads of death-metal bands around at the same time, but they were all happy to make mediocre records. We never saw this as an option. At the Gates wanted to test ourselves up against the giants.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tDespite the success of Slaughter of the Soul<\/em>, At the Gates broke up just one year after its release. Lindberg spent the next decade playing in an array of different projects, such as the grindcore supergroup Lock Up, as well as more hardcore and punk-influenced outfits, the Great Deceiver, Disfear, and Skitsystem.<\/p>\n