A couple of things to clarify from the outset: firstly, this isn’t strictly a new release. And secondly, yes, that is a particularly stupid title. Allegory Of Allergies originally appeared in 2007 on C120, but has now resurfaced on Weird Forest as a limited (everything seems to be limited these days, this one to a mere 980 copies) gatefold double LP. Listening to it a couple of years after its recording, it still feels like a key release in the discography of this oh-so-vital Ohio trio.

Everything about this is huge, from the big chunky packaging (featuring a painting by Wolf Eyes’ Mike Connelly) to the length of the tracks (6 tracks here, spread out over 4 sides of vinyl) to the depths of their drones. These gigantic chunks of black spiral are full of sonic detail, leading you on a ramble from twinkling guitar through cavernous vocal dirge to Cluster-esque synth burble. The massive Side C “Underwater Mountains” showcases the band at their most aggressive, with wave after wave of shredded static washing up on its shore. Even the shorter pieces like “House Of Mirrors” are no less epic, stacking up immensely satisfying and cacophonous layers of bass rumble under some glitchy rhythms. Played loud, Allegory Of Allegories will pulsate the paint from you walls, I promise you.

As a postscript, I should add that some slow sequences at the end of opening track/side “Nereus (Spirits Over The Lake)” prompted me to wonder what this would sound like at 45rpm. The results were rather good: surprisingly melodic, in fact; albeit sad and strange-sounding. It seems that even the things that Emeralds don’t mean to do, they actually do rather well. Speaking of which, you’d do well to track down one of the few remaining copies of this. Try Weird Forest or Norman Records.