When you see, or rather read, the name HUDU AKIL, you get the sense there's going to be some shenanigans going down. If you watch their "origin" video which introduced their debut EP, "Three Finger Lid," the deal, as they say, will be sealed. HUDU AKIL is a Stoner Metal duo out of Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. - yep, a desert city produced a Desert Metal band, go figure. These boys have been together since at least 2016 when they released their first EP. On August 15, 2020 they released their first full-length album, "Eye For An Eye." It's a mixed bag of quintessential Stoner tunes with a heavy dose of explorative stuff to boot.

HUDU AKIL is at their best when they push the pretense aside and just get down to business. "Hot Pursuit," for example is so damn groovy you won't be able to put it down. "Neb Cruiser" is another classic track. While a few others deserve mention based on their sheer velocity - "Who Do I Kill" and "The Scattered Sun Parade" - the balance are a bit scattered . . . as if the band was looking for their center and couldn't quite find it. Or maybe they did find it, and I just can't fully appreciate it. There's a spoken word segment in "Desert Boogie" that feels like it's reaching for Jim Morrison's "American Prayer"; "Dawn" starts off strong but then devolves into an organ infused Doom piece; there's a 38-second synth interlude and an equally drab synth-laden intro; and title track shows some promise but gets weighed down by ponderous wanderings.

Lyrically, the album is also a mixed bag. There are some deeply introspective reflections going on here, but they come across forced, especially when juxtaposed with the more upbeat, tongue-in-cheek tracks. The cover art is an excellent piece of art, but it struggles to find its peace with the content of the album itself.

I think this would have made a great EP with some focused editing. There's some real promise here, as evidenced by a good half of this album. When they crank, they crank; when they don't, they really don't. Either way, "Eye For An Eye" is worth a listen. Even if you don't end up buying the entire album, there are several gems you'll definitely want to get your hands on.