[5] It is the first Fates Warning album to feature current singer Ray Alder, who replaced John Arch after the release of Awaken the Guardian (1986), as well as the last to feature drummer Steve Zimmerman, who left the band just prior to the recording of their subsequent album Perfect Symmetry (1989).

The album's title was inspired by No Exit, a 1944 play written by French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre.

[6] Musically, No Exit is fairly similar to the band's previous efforts, although incorporating more elements of thrash metal while still maintaining the complex structures and powerful vocal performances found in the earlier albums.

[7] The second was a remastered edition containing three bonus tracks and a DVD of live material, released on September 4, 2007 to coincide with Metal Blade's 25th anniversary.

[8] Eduardo Rivadavia at AllMusic gave No Exit four stars out of five, saying "Usually regarded as the finest release from Fates Warning's early years, when their progressive leanings were tempered with no small amount of classic metal riffing, No Exit is a typically difficult album to come to grips with.