New works by masters like KING DIAMOND must be evaluated and analyzed only in relation to his own previous opuses, as comparisons with any other products of the steel-forging workshop are absolutely meaningless -- the Dane's albums are, at the very least, unique in their own way, and the fact that they will enter the annals of heavy metal history and become legendary -- that I can guarantee.
The changes on "Give Me Your Soul... Please" affect the music, the lyrics, and the artwork alike. The music has become somewhat softer in its sound on one hand, while on the other it still features just as many complex structures and transitions as before, and the solo passages delivered by Andy LaRocque and Mike Wead are something you simply have to hear! I cannot even offhand recall a single album with so many melodies -- and I mean real Melodies, not competitions in guitar acrobatics between two professionals. As for the lyrics: this time the listener is transported to the personal home of the "king of horror" on the fictional Never Ending Hill, where he peacefully resides with his black cat Magic. Among the other characters, as stated in the liner notes, are darkness, a flying head, various shadows, the LISTENER themselves, and the main characters -- a little girl in a bloody dress with her little brother. The girl has a problem: their father killed them, and the celestial authorities decided the boy committed suicide and are trying to send his soul to hell come morning. Naturally, the sister doesn't want to part with him, and to prevent that she needs to find a soul to send to hell in his place. Throughout the entire album she tries to beg KING DIAMOND for his soul, and mind you, with a degree of politeness: "give me your soul... please." But it turns out the maestro's dark soul is not suitable for such an operation. Very little time remains until morning, and the girl hurries off in search of another candidate -- and that victim could be anyone, even YOU, dear listener, in your fortress of a home. So stay on your guard, look closely at the album cover and memorize the face of this blood-soaked little girl with her charming, untrustworthy smirk. The inverted crucifix behind the character is especially striking -- as if the top screw fell out and the crucifix just happened to flip upside down... creepy. Incidentally, as I understand it, the girl in the picture is a reproduction from a photograph, so it is quite possible her real-life prototype exists. So once again I remind you -- stay on your guard! After all, it's unknown whether she found a soul for her little brother or is still searching, and whether she might just happen to know your addresssss...