Review: Exxûl – Sealed into None
Style: epic doom metal, progressive metal, heavy metal, US power metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Atlantean Kodex, Queensrÿche, Crimson Glory, Warlord, Lost Horizon, Fates Warning
Country: Canada
Release date: 15 January 2026
Sealed into None came out at a good time in my music listening life. Ever since I saw Queensrÿche perform their self-titled EP and The Warning in full last spring, I’ve been on an extended 80s prog metal kick. For those who grew up in the djent era and need a refresher on history,1 the first wave of prog metal consists of either techy thrash (Watchtower, Mekong Delta, Toxik, Sieges Even, etc) or ambitious USPM (Fates Warning, Queensrÿche, Savatage, Heir Apparent, etc). The former evolved into tech death and hyperspeed sci-fi stuff like Vektor and Xoth; the latter evolved into Dream Theater and the hordes of 90s “traditional” progressive metal. Think about this: when’s the last time you heard a newly released, masterfully performed, bona fide 80s-style prog metal album?
After you click the embed in this review, it’ll be precisely zero seconds ago. Exxûl—new project of Phil Tougas2 (First Fragment, Cthe’illist, Worm, and others)—is among the most ambitious retro-prog albums I’ve ever heard. It’s a complete game-changer, a breath of fresh air, for those sick of stereotypical modern prog metal. Built on a foundation of epic doom, the riffs are meaty and mostly slow, and the performances are huge. Atmosphere is paramount to Exxûl, and keyboard player, Spectre (Atramentus), creates an air of adventure with a dungeon synth stylistic touch—retro and charming. Throw in some crowd chants during more excitable heavy metal sections, and you’ve got a serious blast to the past brewing.
Prog often devolves into bombastic displays of virtuosic excess (not derogatory), and two performers on Exxûl stand tall for their all-time fantastic, grandiose performances: Stargazer (vocals) and Toug… I mean Defender (guitars). First, the vocal performance on Sealed into None is unreal, with Stargazer sounding like a mix of early Geoff Tate (Queenrÿche), Midnight (Crimson Glory), and Daniel Heiman (Lost Horizon, Dimhav, Sacred Outcry3)—a veritable who’s who of metal tenor titans. He takes plenty of opportunities to demonstrate his incredible range; for instance, Stargazer masquerades as an über-dramatic bass for the first minute of epic finale, “The Screaming Tower,” and within twenty seconds of one of his lowest notes, he hits a note worthy of the track’s title with a falsetto piercing enough to crack armor. At times, Stargazer abuses his ludicrous range, the power behind his voice becoming unwieldy—jumping what seems like octaves at a time, forcing cracks into warbling vibrato. But while the crazed rawness of some of his vocal lines may be a turn-off to many, the unrefined authenticity is inarguably impressive and fits right in line with the legacy of power/prog singers he takes inspiration from. Although I’m someone who typically dislikes excessive nonlexical singing, some of Stargazer’s finest moments are when he drops the words entirely. The agility he displays singing “yeaaaaahs” is something to behold, often with high and low sung notes layered in classic Heiman style. Across the album (“Blighted Deity,” “The Screaming Tower”), he’ll do some classic “woaaahhaaahs,” where Defender’s guitar will match Stargazer note for note in an orgasmic display of harmonizing (definitely check out just before eight minutes into the finale). Finally, Stargazer’s got an extremely diabolical laugh he’s not afraid to unleash.
Yet like any band with Toug… mmm Defender, the skill of his peers is an irrelevancy to him as he effortlessly4 builds his case that he’s the GOAT of shredding. Only three minutes into the album, he shows that he’s the man of the hour, as “Blighted Deity” quickly launches into what I think is the best guitar solo I’ve heard in the last several years. It’s a compact display of everything that makes Defender’s guitar playing so far above his peers—the bravado of 80s shredders but with the full history of tech death as inspiration to draw from. The magical fingers of Defender don’t ever rest for long, as he unendingly slings both earwormy lead melodies and dazzling solos alike. He’s not a selfish man—and he shares the focus with Stargazer admirably—but it’s impossible to hear a Defender solo and not come away as an acolyte. The four main songs each have several shred-fest solos that would be the peak of many a great guitarist’s career (a little past the midpoint of “Labyrinthine Fate” is another of what is guaranteed to be the finest guitar parts this year).
The four songs are all long, at over eight minutes each, and their hefty runtimes are used well, traversing through a huge range of paces and themes without becoming convoluted. Of course, with such strong vocals and guitars, the riffs in between hardly matter; repeatedly, Stargazer will hit some insane note or Defender will play a flurry of arpeggios so resplendent that I need time to catch my breath for the next time one of them does something legendary. Thankfully, despite not mattering very much because I’m on cloud nine listening anyway, Sealed into None’s riffs are strong epic doom bangers, but they’re just not as memorable as the insanity of the individual performances—and that’s ok. For those who want to headbang to some good old fashioned power metal-y doom, there’s plenty of that here, making everything easy-listening. Moreover, the retro production sounds very 80s, and while I would have turned up the bass a smidgen, the album is warm and inviting for repeated spins.
In some sense, Exxûl haven’t reinvented the wheel and have just perfected an already existing form of prog metal, but in another sense, Sealed into None is innovative for today’s prog metal zeitgeist. Either way, you’d be hard pressed to find a better performed album of this style, back then or now From its intricate song structures to its herculean performances, Sealed into None is the next evolution of the prog metal of yore.
Recommended tracks: Blighted Deity, Labyrinthine Fate, The Screaming Tower
You may also like: Crypt Sermon, Veni Domine, Tempestuous Fall, Dimhav, Sacred Outcry, Triumpher, Dark Quarterer, Starborn
Final verdict: 9/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Label: Productions TSO
Exxûl is:
– Stargazer (Thomas Karam) – Vocals
– Defender (Phil Tougas) – Guitars
– Sentinel (Antoine Daigneault) – Bass
– Spectre (François Bilodeau) – Synths
– Etherial Hammer (Guyot Begin-Benoit) – Drums
- Never mind that I technically grew up in the djent era. I still have good taste. ↩︎
- Sorry, “Defender” is his pseudonym for the project. This album continues the same worldbuilding that goes on in several of his projects (Atramentus, Zeicrydeus…). ↩︎
- I’ve already done wayyyyy too many “etc” and “and others” because of all the stellar and busy musicians, but also check out Warrior Path. ↩︎
- I caught him live with First Fragment, and I’ve never seen another tech death artist play their parts with quite that much ease. ↩︎
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