OPETH released their sixth album "Deliverance" on November 12, 2002, through Koch and Music for Nations — the crushing half of a planned double album whose gentle twin, "Damnation", followed about five months later. Recorded between July and September 2002 at Nacksving Studio and Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, it was co-produced by Mikael Åkerfeldt and Steven Wilson, mixed by Andy Sneap and wrapped in Travis Smith artwork. The sessions were plagued by equipment failures and band tension, and Åkerfeldt lost his grandmother in a car accident during the process; he dedicated both records to her. With Peter Lindgren, Martín Méndez and Martin Lopez beside him, Åkerfeldt delivered OPETH's heaviest record, from "Wreath" and "A Fair Judgement" to "Master's Apprentices". It became the band's first charting release, won a Grammis award for Best Hard Rock Performance, and in 2023 Rolling Stone ranked its title track No. 52 among the greatest heavy metal songs.
