Entombed AD singer Lars-Göran “LG” Petrov passed away on March 7 after a battle with bile duct cancer. Petrov was 49.
The news of Petrov’s passing was announced via a statement from his Entombed AD band mates.
“Our brother, leader, vocalist, our Chief Rebel Angel went on another ride last night,” the statement read. “It’s with the deepest sadness that we have to announce that Lars-Göran Petrov has left us. He was (is!!!) an incredible friend, and a person that has touched so many people. He has changed so many lives with his voice, his music, his character and his unique personality.
“LG’s smile is something that we will carry forever in our hearts. When asked in an interview what he would like to have written on his grave and what about his legacy, he said: ‘I will never die, it will never die." And you didn’t. You will live forever in our hearts.”
Petrov was recruited as the frontman for Entombed in the late ‘80s, after a stint playing drums in the Swedish extreme metal band Morbid (a group that also featured singer Per “Dead” Olin, who would go on to front infamous Norwegian black metal act Mayhem).
Entombed released their debut album, Left Hand Path, in 1990, and the band became a central act in the Swedish and Scandinavian death metal sound that rose to prominence in that decade – even as, with records like 1993’s Wolverine Blues and 1997’s DCLXVI: To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth, they began to incorporate garage rock and doom and stoner metal influences into their style.
In 2014, Entombed fractured and Petrov formed Entombed AD with former Entombed bassist and guitarist Nico Elgstrand and drummer Olle Dahlstedt. That same year, the new band released their debut album, Back to the Front. Two more albums – 2016’s Dead Dawn and 2019’s Bowels of Earth – followed.
In 2020, Petrov revealed that he had been diagnosed with incurable bile duct cancer, and a GoFundMe page was launched to help fund his treatment.
“I’ve been hit with uncurable cancer (gallvägscancer in Swedish), and have been battling it for some time now,” he wrote on the GoFundMe page. “It can’t be removed but the doctors are trying to control it with chemo therapy. Life takes its weird turns…”
Regarding the GoFundMe, Petrov told Louder Sound in 2020 that “Jay Weinberg from Slipknot was the one who suggested it. I was talking to him and he said I should do it, because of all this COVID crap and the financial situation we're in. Some of the pills are pretty expensive, but I aim to donate some of the money to [Swedish children’s cancer fund] Barncancerfonden. I feel like I owe it.
“But the response to it has been pretty amazing. I didn’t expect this reaction. People have come together to help out. And a lot of bands shared the post – Behemoth, Amon Amarth. There has been immense support. It brings a tear to your eye. Not one tear. Loads of them!”
Petrov’s death was met by an outpouring of tributes online, including from bands like HammerFall and artists like Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta, Trivium's Matt Heafy and Amon Amarth frontman Jonas Hegg, who wrote:
“The word legend is to[o] small to describe LG and what he meant for me as a friend and inspiration. Not only was he one of the best and original voices in metal, but the most kind, humble, funny and genuine person one could ever hope to meet. I will miss you my friend!”
