LOCUS NOIR marks a new chapter for Ben DMN, best known as the commanding voice behind Swiss death-wave institution SYBREED. This time, however, the spotlight shifts toward shadowed alleys rather than industrial battlegrounds.
Born from a desire to reconnect with the sounds that haunted his youth, LOCUS NOIR thrives on nocturnal solitude, creative rebirth, and a dusk-laden atmosphere where introspection reigns. What began as a solitary vision is now steadily mutating into a full band organism, poised to take on a life of its own.
Sonically, LOCUS NOIR inhabits the space where Gothic Metal bleeds into post-punk: the funereal weight of Type O Negative, the arcane grandeur of Fields of the Nephilim, and the bruised romanticism of Paradise Lost collide with a stripped-back, cold-wave sensibility. The result feels suspended outside of time — reverent of the past yet undeniably modern.
On the debut album Shadow Sun, Ben unveils a more melodic and spectral vocal presence, weaving drama and restraint in equal measure. Hints of Peter Murphy’s theatrical poise surface alongside understated nods to the late Peter Steele, without ever tipping into imitation. Lyrically, the record drifts between the occult and the confessional, tracing themes of obsession, mortality, desire, and disintegration — the intoxication of endless nights and the grim clarity that arrives with dawn.
Shadow Sun is scheduled for release Feb. 27, 2026 via Listenable Records and can be pre-ordered now. The album will be available in limited edition marble vinyl and limited edition digipack with 2 bonus tracks
Tracklisting:
1. Walpurgisnacht 1996
2. Shadow Sun
3. Cemetery Youth (track featuring Ben Christo of The Sisters of Mercy )
4. A Dismal Romance
5. She Haunts the Night
6. Thicker Than Darkness Itself
7. In Despair We Trust
8. Death, That Elusive Mistress
9. Hollow
10. Full Moon Therianthropy
11. Reburial
Bonus tracks:
12. Marry the Night (Lady Gaga cover)
13. How Harsh is the Light of Dawn