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Here's one bound to polarise metalheads, pretty much like any of King's releases in the past what, 10 or 15 years? Already I've seen comments ranking this from best to worst. Oh well. It's neither. This is definitely one of the most polished and melodic King Diamond albums, and I might be hallucinating, but he seems to have toned down on the falsetto a little. One thing I both love and hate about this album is how damn catchy it is: I've had practically the whole album stuck in my head for the past couple of weeks. The album flows so well that it almost feels like riding gentle waves when listening to it. But at the same time, after a few days, having this stuff stuck in one's head can drive to insanity. Just ask my boss. :)

The storyline is somewhat predictable - I knew where this was going when I saw the album's name and the cover art (which are both kind of... laughable? Uninspired? I haven't made up my mind on that one yet.) But in the end, it's the music that counts, and musically this is more melodic than the previous releases (and definitely more so than his earlier releases which had much more aggressive guitar work.) Melodic doesn't mean bad, however, even though it may feel a bit pop-ish at times. You get a solid, sizable dose of melodic heavy metal in which the guitar work shines, without being too flashy. Once again King Diamond has enrolled a female vocalist for accompanying vocals, and the man knows where and how they should be used. The duo sounds great throughout the album. It's too bad that Metal Blade didn't include a bonus DVD like on "The Puppet Master" with King explaining the story - it was a simple idea that really added to the overall experience of that album.

This album won't change the mind of those who believe King hasn't done anything good since album xyz - it's a continuation of the evolution of his sound in the past 10 or so years, and there's nothing there that really sounds like his early classics. But if you are of a more forgiving nature, or don't know the band and want a good slab of melodic heavy metal, then "Give Me Your Soul... Please" delivers the goods.