Maybe ear fatigue happens when you don't have a good budget to spend the $$$ for a top-notch producer. And thanks for the Meshuggah/metal philosophy lesson. After listening to this band for 12 years, and metal for 25 years, I really needed that.
DEI is more fatiguing to my ears. The guitars have a more pronounced high-end element. They're smoother, if anything, on Chaosphere. Btw, to me, anything on NS-10s sounds fatiguing.
I have a feeling that you're just saying that to be contradictory. DEI is a brilliant production. If you think that Chaosphere is sonically superior, then you're basically saying that F. Thordendal did a better job producing than Bergstrand - which would be a crazy statement. Chaosphere is a very harsh sounding record - I don't know why anyone would want to A/B to it. There's virtually no low end, and the highs are mostly the painful highs - 4k-7k. I always felt that Meshuggah limited their career as a band because they insist on producing themselves. That's the same for everybody until you spend enough (a shitload of) time with your head in between them.
DEI is way easier on the ears. Chaosphere really gets on my nerves after a few songs, but I constantly listens to DEI instead of Chasospher because of the production.
Nope, not at all. I'm entirely serious. I preffer the production job on Chaosphere to that of DEI. Not by much, but slightly, yes.
I listen to Chaosphere usually with an angry attitude, loud and headbanging . When I listen to it in a mood to hear more "conventional" music, it annoys me very quickly.
