Notre-Dame-de-l’Enfer is the third release from Thrash La Reine following La Foi, La Loi, La Croix (2019) and Le Métal Est Notre Langue (2018). It is the band’s attempt to make a metal opera about French Canadian stories, which will shine some light on francophone folklore presented in an energetic and catchy fashion.

The band comments on their signing:”We are very proud to announce that our new album, Notre-Dame-de-l’Enfer, will be released through BAM&Co. We are really pleased to be part of this label, along with bands like Anonymus, BARF and Nova Spei. Some of these bands are the pioneers of the Francophone metal scene in Quebec, and we have been listening to them since we were in high school. They have been an important influence on us. Cannot wait to share the stage with some of these bands!”

For Notre-Dame-de-l’Enfer, Thrash La Reine worked closely with producer Francis Perron (Voivod – The Wake) to create an album of thirteen tracks comprising nine full songs and four instrumental interludes, taking the band on a hard turn from their classic metal/thrash roots and into folk metal territory. For the record’s lead single Au Chant de l’Alouette, Thrash La Reine collaborated with local Montreal band Nova Spei’s vocalist Dany Duplessis for backing vocals along with him guesting on the song Wendigo.

Overall, the concept album will connect with many local Quebec fans, but the band’s goal is to also expose French Canadian culture to more metalheads around the globe.

The band explains the release in further detail: “Notre-Dame-de-l’Enfer is an album about French Canadian folklore. Most of these folk tales occur at night, in the cold countryside of the province of Quebec. We made an album that reflects this cold and dark atmosphere. For example, we used down-tuned guitars and bass to create a sonic atmosphere that seems to come from the depths of the Appalachian Mountains. Many of these stories happened in the eighteenth century during festivities; we also tried to capture the festive aspect of these legends, including a lot of gang vocals. We incorporated some traditional instruments to this album like mandolin, acoustic guitar, strings, accordion, and cowbell! The kind of singing and harmonies we use on this album are also reminiscent of traditional chants.

These French Canadian folk tales are all about ghosts, witches, sins, and the devil himself! It fits really well with the metal imagery! The album touches on a lot of different styles: fast, slow, sad, happy songs with either coarse or clean vocals. This album captures different colours and emotions.

As the themes of the album are really similar, we did a conceptual album with an epic introduction and some transitions between the songs.”