Terra Nova's first release came back in 1996 with "Livin' It Up" which was a decent slice of 80s style AOR rock which made its was into my collection, but which I have to admit I found a little generic and it hasn't been played that much. "Break Away" and "Make My Day" followed in the 90s, but amid record company problems the band called it quits in 1999. Frontiers persuaded main man Fred Hendrix to put together their "Escape" come back in 2005.
In 2008 the band started work on "Come Alive" with the ambition of recreating the exciting sound of their debut. For the most part the band play AOR with bands like Balance, Journey and Styx as reference points, but occasionally a few Bon Jovi influences coming through on the more uptempo numbers. I have to admit that in between the less than stellar keyboard heavy title track opener and what sounds like a Journey cover version closer, "The Final Curtain", there are some decent tracks. However, my reaction to this album is pretty similar to their debut in that I think the music is too generic and it doesn't make a big impact on me. Fans of their earlier albums may disagree.
Rating: 3 stars
