At The Gates’ Singer Tomas Lindberg Takes On A Horse

As a metalhead ages, it gets less important to keep up appearances. No longer does it seem to matter if one is repping brutality full time; the term “guilty pleasure” exits one’s vocabulary. Suddenly you’re fopping around on the tennis court, comparing malls with your arch-preppy pals, tapping your toe to Paramore, and rounding up the girls for a face-stuffing at CPK. Fuck it, you think, Is it even worthwhile to telegraph my music tastes 24/7? Might it even be counterproductive, reductive, and pointless? What truly is my brand?

At The Gates’ Tomas Lindberg is pretty old, so he’s a decade or two past the GAF point. That’s why he looks so comfy canoodling with his beloved draft horses at his pad in Sweden (above). Cuz fuck what it looks like — his North Swedish horses bring joy to his family and bring relaxation to a hard-working teacher and metal screamer. (Wait — the author of this lyric is a teacher? Sweet.) That’s what he told The AV Club in an installment of the same series that asked Rob Zombie about his love of all silent movies. And sources tell me that the series will next feature Varg’s collection of bird baths and then the Watain guys discussing their bowling league. More stony Tompa photos here.

At The Gates’ new album At War With Realty is out now via Century Media. Get it here.