In the real world, it takes time and hard work to become an overnight success. Dutch Melodic Rock band, TERRA NOVA debuted in 1996 with ‘Livin’ It Up’, a milestone record which captured the sheer joie de vivre of eighties AOR and melodic rock and catapulted Terra Nova into the vanguard of the genre, both in Europe and Japan.
Mastermind of this musical venture were brothers Fred and Ron Hendrix. They had been learning their craft since the early eighties – forming bands, writing songs, touring incessantly and “Livin’ It Up” marked the end of a musical era for the two guys. No second album syndrome caught Terra Nova and ‘Break Away’ was released in 1997 to major critical acclaim and even bigger success in Japan, leading to a major tour of the Far East in 1998. At the end of 1999, after the release of their third album, ‘Make My Day’, persistent problems with their Dutch record company saw the band reach the end of their patience and the end of the road. Reluctantly, but perhaps inevitably, the band split. Six years after, Frontiers Records pulled Fred away from his solo projects and commissioned a new album from Terra Nova. For the thousands of fans who remembered Terra Nova’s three nineties’ releases this was truly something to celebrate and the come-back album “Escape” was critically acclaimed as the best Terra Nova album since the debut.
More studio work has kept Fred and Ron busy. Together with guitarist Gesuino Derosas, they have infact played and produced the excellent Two of a Kind album in 2007, another Melodic Rock highlight of the year.
In 2008 TERRA NOVA headed back to the studio for the recording of the band's fifth studio album entitled "Come Alive". With the vision to go back and recreate the exciting sound of the debut album, TERRA NOVA reunited in the original “Livin’ It Up” lineup with Fred Hendrix on lead vocals and guitar, Ron Hendrix on keyboards, Gesuino Derosas on guitars, Lars Beuving on drums and additional musician Eric Coenen (who played on the band’s third and fourth record) on bass guitar.