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I think King Diamond needs to retire sometime soon. As is the case with most artists as they get older, King's sound has become slightly slower and more tame with age - you won't find any of the ripping speed or throat-tearing leadwork displayed on Abigail on this record. That doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing, as stalwarts Iron Maiden have recently shown us, and King definitely has tons of great options for more quality material. But he sure as fuck isn't using any of them here, still stuck in the same old pulpy ghost story horror concept album theme he's done for ages. Why doesn't he breach out a bit more and try some more varied horror concepts? It'd sure bring at least a bit of flavor to this stale formula, which smells exceptionally putrid on this particular album. Give Me Your Soul...Please?, while already boasting a horrendously bad title, also has - from what I can discern - a dull, trite storyline that even Goosebumps kiddies would chuckle at. The cover art is also notoriously bad, lacking any of the dark, majestic grandeur of the last two albums. Seriously, King, is this a joke? Try harder with the packaging next time.

Musical pros and cons:

PROS: This isn't a sellout album. King hasn't gone metalcore or changed his style in the least.
CONS: This is boring. King hasn't changed his style in the least.

Give Me Your Soul is a well-played, listenable album of melodic Heavy Metal of a generally high caliber (musicianship-wise), but that's really all I can say about it. It's pretty much a carbon copy of the last album, except this lacks any sort of dark vigor that The Puppet Master had. This all feels contrived and forced, as if King just pumped this out to satisfy the record executives and naught more. The riffs are pretty cool, and the solos are present, but none of it sticks. I can't remember a note of this after it's done playing, and there's nothing here to incite me to ever listen to it over Abigail or The Puppet Master. King's vocals are, right along with the music, disappointing and lackluster, missing nearly all of the raw fucking power he had in his early days and relying mostly on a piss-weak pseudo-snarl type thing. Yes, he is getting old, so it's excusable, but I have to mention it anyway.

I seem to be saying a lot these days that certain albums "lack energy and power," and especially about stuff released this year. Sadly, it seems to be a running trend, and I suppose we can't help it that our favorite musicians are growing old and running out of ideas, and King Diamond is no different. If you're a rabid, drooling, foaming-at-the-mouth King Diamond fanboy, then get this album, and if not, pick up Abigail instead.