Premiere: Part Paladin Unleashes Debut Album Temet Nosce
Sydney’s rising heavy act Part Paladin has pulled back the curtain on his debut album Temet Nosce with an exclusive premiere ahead of its official release Friday. A bold and cathartic body of work, the record showcases the artist’s evolution from early singles and EPs into a fully realised sonic identity, weaving themes of self-discovery, resilience, and existential weight into a finely crafted 10-track journey.
After carving out his sound with a string of self-released singles and an EP, Part Paladin, the project of Sydney-based multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and producer Dux Newton steps boldly into a new era with Temet Nosce. Translating to know thyself, the album is a finely crafted reflection on identity, self-belief, and the defining moments that shape us.
Across its ten tracks, Temet Nosce moves between cinematic introspection and explosive heaviness. Opening with the haunting strings of ‘Know Thyself’ featuring violinist Marcello Ulfo, the record journeys through deeply personal storytelling on ‘A Slow Decay’, mythological and sci-fi landscapes in ‘Anunnaki’ and triumphant collaborations like ‘Take The Crown’ with Sunk Loto’s Jason Brown and ‘Brave This World’ featuring Yours Truly’s Mikaila Delgado.
Elsewhere, songs like ‘Crimson’ and ‘Arrhythmia’ reflect on voice, family and resilience, while ‘Shots Fired’ taps into raw technical metal roots inspired by a real-life brush with chaos. Each track on Temet Nosce reveals a different facet of Newton’s artistry. unrelenting yet vulnerable, grounded yet expansive.
Beyond the riffs and intensity, Temet Nosce is a deeply personal record. Part Paladin walks us through the album track by track, sharing the meaning, memories and moments that shaped each song.
Know Thyself:
This intro is very inspired by ethereal movie scores and features the incredible violinist Marcello Ulfo. I wanted something that was cinematic, otherworldly and set the pace and tone for the first full song, A Slow Decay. I wanted that Balkan-esque, Phrygian scale string part and wrote a rudimentary reference, but Marcello blew it out of the water and created a really eerie and perfect piece!
A Slow Decay
A Slow Decay is one of the most personal cuts on the record, aimed at someone in my life who has spent years making destructive choices and leaving hurt in their wake. It reflects on the way people can build false narratives to excuse their actions, weaving manipulation and self-mythology to escape accountability, and the toll that takes as time passes. The song frames that decline against the realities of aging and mental unraveling, the body breaking down while the lies and tricks remain. It’s about the uneasy space between anger and resignation, watching someone face the consequences of their own making, knowing there may never be any penance or resolution.
Anunnaki
Anunnaki is a brooding, confrontational reflection on humanity’s decline as seen through the eyes of ancient cosmic creators returning to witness the wreckage of their legacy. It imagines a superior race disappointed in the chaos, greed and self-destruction of modern society and poses hard questions about discipline, consciousness, and our place in the universe. I’m obsessed with ancient myths, alternative theories and Sci-Fi, so it felt like a perfect landscape to deliver this message. Sonically, I wanted to craft a soundscape that felt it could belong on the soundtrack to a Sci-Fi movie, both futuristic and triumphant.
Sunseeker
Sunseeker looks inward, tracing the ways we distort ourselves and the image we project to the world. It speaks to insecurity, self-doubt, and the masks we wear, shaped by negativity from our own misguided perception of reality. The song wrestles with the tension between hiding behind a warped self-portrait and the urge to step into clarity, to “seek the sun” and face the truths, whether comfortable or uncomfortable
Crimson
Crimson reflects on the journey from silence to self-expression. Growing up, I was reserved, anxious, and often swallowed my words rather than risk being heard. This track channels the struggle of finding confidence, breaking out of that shell, and learning to speak freely without fear. It’s about reclaiming your voice after years of restraint, refusing to hold your tongue, even when it feels uncomfortable and embracing the liberation that comes with honesty. The title evokes both the pain of biting back words and the empowerment of finally letting them out.
Take The Crown (feat. Jason Brown)
Take The Crown is at the heart of the record, built around the idea of Temet Nosce — to know thyself. It’s my reflection on identity, belonging, and the long fight to reconcile where I come from with who I choose to be. Growing up split between two cultures, without my father present, I often felt caught in no-man’s land, never fully part of one side or the other. This song is my declaration that I don’t need to choose; I am whole as I am, and I can define myself on my own terms. I grew up with Sunk Loto, they’re a huge inspiration to me so to be able to collab with Jason, and for him to bring such ferocity and experience to the track was a dream come true.
Familia Shores
Sitting at the pub one day with a best mate, Lincoln, we were talking about the album I was working on and exchanging ideas. He pulled out his phone and played me a few old beats he’d made a decade earlier, purely for inspiration. By the third one, I stopped him and said, “that’s the one”. The chord progression and timing were perfect and I could hear it as a Part Paladin song immediately. I re-produced it from scratch but the bones remain the same and Familia Shores now stands as both the skeleton and the lead-in to Arrhythmia, one of my favourite songs on the album.
Arrhythmia
This is one of the most crucial songs on the album, written for my parents. Life throws everyone its share of trauma and turbulence, especially in early adulthood when you’re out in the world making mistakes and learning who you are. But there’s an unparalleled comfort in knowing you can pick up the phone in a crisis, hear your parents say “come home, we’ve got you” and feel everything shift. That sense of safety and unconditional support has been a lifeline for me more times than I can count, and it’s something universal — whether it comes from your family, your partner, or your closest friends. This song is about that refuge. The steady beacon in the storm that puts you back together when you feel like you’re falling apart.
Shots Fired
The heaviest track on the record, a deliberate nod to my roots and love for technical metal. I don’t write in this style as often anymore, but this track was a chance to flex those muscles. The lyrics come from a real experience in Brisbane a few years back, when I found myself caught in the middle of a hit-and-run shooting. It was a moment of sheer chaos — an ordinary street turning into something dangerous and unfamiliar in a heartbeat — and it stuck with me long after. This song carries both the raw anger of that memory and the catharsis of processing it.
Brave This World (feat. Mikaila Delgado)
Brave This World is one of the most anthemic and cinematic songs I’ve written, and at its core it’s about the constant fight with self-doubt and anxiety. For me it’s a reminder that even when every flaw feels magnified, you can push through, break things down, and find a way forward. The lyrics turn mountains into stones and cloudy skies into light, turning heavy weight into something you can actually carry. I knew I wanted to approach Mikaila to join not long after I wrote it. She brings rawness and vulnerability alongside power and purpose, and presents another perspective and balance. There’s frustration and defiance on one hand, and resilience and optimism on the other.
Temet Nosce is available for exclusive first listen with us today, before its official release on September 12.
