Metal Edge Zine
Honeymoon Suite are a Canadian rock band formed in 1982. "Clifton Hill" marks their 7th release since their 1984 debut. I am amazed how they manage to capture their trademark sound and still remain fresh despite long breaks between releases and member changes. While much of Honeymoon Suite's writing and trademark sound revolves heavily around the vocals of Johnnie Dee and guitar work of Derry Grehan (who can trade licks with the best including Eddie Van Halen IMO), "Clifton Hill" marks a full band reunion of the 1984 line-up.  This latest CD is a must have for Honeymoon Suite fans and sounds as fresh as their initial 1984 S/T CD.  

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Promises, promises, promises… For the past 15-20 years the Canadian band HONEYMOON SUITE have been struggling over and over again, desperately releasing an album that would touch the quality of their first 3 albums, but sadly after ‘Racing after midnight’ and with the ending of the 1980s, the band never did manage to come up with a decent release, despite stating each time they had release their finest record so far! Also their dozen comeback albums from the 2000s were quite boring to say the least, but the new CD ‘Clifton hill’ is finally bringing us light at the end of the tunnel. The band has now released an album that contains songs that easily can be called the best HONEYMOON SUITE tunes in 20 years! The band has found their AOR/Melodic Rock roots again, probably also due to the fact the band was formed 25 years ago in ‘Clifton hill’ near the Canadian Niagara Falls, which will also be the place of a big outdoor festival soon where they will headline. The classics were made in the 1980s by HONEYMOON SUITE, but happily this new album also offers some really good material. Opener “She ain’t alright” is a superb classic uptempo melodic rocker that finally brings the band back into the mid 1980s,  Other highlights are the semi-AOR ballads “Ordinary” and “Restless” as well as the uptempo melodic rockers “Tired O Waitin’ on you”, “The house”, “Down 2 bizness” and “That’s all U got” (a la NIGHT RANGER) and the AOR song “Sunday morning”. Good to see the band back doing what they do best, which is   Great Melodic Rock!
(Points: 8.3 out of 10)
www.melodicrock.com - 93%
It's great to hear any new material from Canada's Honeymoon Suite. I have always had a soft spot for these guys and still worship classic albums Racing After Midnight and The Big Prize.
The band took a left turn in recent years with a modern influenced Lemon Tongue, which fell short due to weak songs, while vocalist Johnnie Dee released a much stronger solo effort in the same vein.
An attempt to repackage Lemon Tongue in Europe with some different tracks as the Dreamland record won more approval, but it was news that the original line-up was back together that got fan hopes up.
And thankfully those expectations have been met with the new album Clifton Hill.
But to be clear – I don't think this is an album that recaptures the glory days entirely, rather it updates the bands classic sound to a more contemporary setting without sounding too modern or outside their comfort zone.
There is no mistaking that this is a Honeymoon Suite record. Part Monsters Under The Bed, part Big Prize and part new, this record features some very catchy moments and some great uptempo melodic rock and some of the band's best songs in over a decade.
There are also a number of moodier mellower tunes that surmises the band's sound over the years.
Listeners are hit with a one-two punchy of crunchy melodic rock straight out of the gate as She Ain't Alright and Tired O Waitin' On You deliver knockout riffs and big hooks - the latter being one of the band's best tunes in years.
The curiously titled Riffola harkens back to he band's mid-tempo moody best and Ordinary is a classic ballad in anyone's books.
The House beefs up the tempo with another cool chorus before Why Should I again delivers mood and angst as only this band can.
Down 2 Bizness is a good straight ahead rocking track, but the more left of center and contemporary Sunday Morning misses the mark and doesn't match the quality of the rest of the material.
That's All You Got is a little loose, but the vibe gets the album back on track and the chorus has a strong hook.
The moody and mellow Restless is another class ballad with a great lead vocal from Dee.
The mid-tempo and somewhat dramatic rock ballad Separate Lives is the closer and is a decent track.
The best of the material is probably on the first half of the album, but overall this is still a great sounding record with that classic Honeymoon Suite vibe well and truly back! It is great to hear the band being so energetic and I think the vast majority of HMS fans will find this release to their liking and will rate it highly. I know I do…