What a dog legalism can be. Hair, clothes, speech, smell, makeup, volume, denominations, love offerings, church socials—if we look, we can see it trying to tie us up from every angle. While Christian musicians are often victims of the pressures of legalism, persecutions often come to strengthen their faith. Criticism from those "on the same side" tends to produce either disillusionment or strength and maturity. The fruit of any growth into maturity is seen (and heard) in their response to their critics. There is a difference between simply speaking the truth (Stryper's belligerent Against the Law of 1990) and speaking the truth in love. Fighter has achieved the latter with Bang the Drum.
While spending a year touring their respectable debut, 1991's The Waiting, Fighter was unceremoniously introduced to the wildly mixed and freely spoken opinions of the Christian church at large. To their credit, they return from the road a stronger, wiser band rather than hurt and bitter—and the proof is in these eleven new songs.
Three songs address the legalism issue directly ("Bang the Drum," "Try" and "So Much to Learn"), and while they don't mince any words about their pain, "Try" reaffirms their determination to not flip off the establishment: "I'll keep giving you my love, though it hurts to disagree. I want to know there's a better way—someday I'll see."
The rest of the record serves to point to Jesus. "Alone With You," "Faithfully," "Without You" and "Your Hand" all demonstrate the band's commitment to pressing on through adversity. "Time Out" and "Avalanche" reach for the unbeliever, and "Where Can Love Be Found" is a moving cry for the plight of the runaway.
Fighter's growth is also seen in their talent. Every member is actually better at what they do than on The Waiting. Amy Wolter and Sean Murphy are better vocalists, Billy Heller is a better guitarist and they're all better writers. They produced Bang the Drum themselves along with label head Caesar Kalinowski and they couldn't have done a finer job. This sounds good like a rock and roll record should—prominent guitar, solid drums, a touch of keyboards and penetrating vocals.
Fighter is growing spiritually and musically, and it's encouraging to see that they won't back down in either area.
3/5
Other coverage for this album
The Lighthouse January 1993Reviewed by Beth BlinnBang The Drum is a solid effort from Fighter. The band has a basic rock sound, that would appeal to fans of Petra or White Heart. One difference, though, is that Fighter splits the lead vocal job between Amy Wolter and Sean Murphy, making the band a little more diverse. Fighter tackles some of the usual Christian topics, but an unusual subject that crops up in several songs is legalism. While…Heaven's Metal #37Reviewed by Joey KnightFighter seems to have come through with a very good album here. One thing that quickly grabs your attention is the great vocal work on the album, both led by Amy Walters and Sean Murphy. Though the album in general is very much pop rock, there are underlying tones of crunch on select tunes, such as "Try," "So Much to Learn" and dirty blues on "Avalanche." I personally would have liked to have…Similar sounding releases
1989MastedonIt's A Jungle Out There
1992CharizmaHeaven Can't Wait
1993PetraWake Up Call
1989GiantLast of the Runaways
1994Idle CureEclipse
1991LiaisonUrgency
