UMUR "Rise to Ruin" is the 7th full-length studio album by Dutch death metal act Gorefest. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in August 2007 (September 2007 in the US). It´s the band´s second release after their comeback with "La Muerte (2005)". The regular edition features 9 tracks, while the limited digipack edition features two bonus tracks.

The music on "Rise to Ruin" pretty much continues where "La Muerte (2005)" left off although the music on "Rise to Ruin" is generally a bit more brutal than was the case on the predecessor. Gorefest have left behind most of the "alternative" elements that were also a tiny part of the sound on "La Muerte (2005)" and "Rise to Ruin" is a more "pure" death metal release. The music on the album is the sound of Gorefest to the bone. Heavy riffs, varied drumming/rhythmic variation, melodic guitar solos, and the distinct sounding semi-growling barks by Jan-Chris de Koeijer. The political and social themed lyrics are also present and accounted for. The playing is as usual on a high level and the album is well produced too, featuring a strong and powerful sound.

Tracks like "Revolt" and "The War on Stupidity" are killer death metal tracks (or how about the brick heavy "A Question of Terror"), but most of the material can deservedly be labelled that. Compared to "La Muerte (2005)", which in many ways is a similar sounding albeit slightly more diverse album, I think "Rise to Ruin" is overall a bit stronger. Maybe because it´s more consistent in style, but no matter what it´s a greatly enjoyable album which proves beyond any doubt that Gorefest´s comeback was artistically successful. It probably won them back a few old fans too, who had turned their backs on the band during their alternative/heavy metal period in the mid- to late nineties. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.