In today’s music industry, image plays an enormous role in determining a band’s future.

Last Thursday’s show at the Gaslighter included bands such as The Banished, Last Amanda, Revolution Smiles and Eterni. All the bands had image but only one band possessed any real on-stage talent.

Last Amanda, a Swedish band based in Los Angeles was the only noteworthy band to watch and listen to.

Their ability to harmonize all the talents of the members into each song had the audience humming along with them.

After opening up the act with a great 1-2-3 punch, the band silenced the audience with “Can’t Stand Myself,” “Game Over” and “Unforgettable.”

In “Game Over,” the band really began to come together as guitarists Andreas Magnusson and Magnus Sandberg introduced modulated beats through their speakers as bassist Nicholas Oja and drummer Peter Limber joined in superbly.

But it was vocalist Marten Larsson’s great frontman prescence that sucked in the crowd with his Cobain/Stipe style singing.

The Banished, a San Jose based band, opened up the night with an average performance.

Drummer Justin was the only standout talent in the band. His high-energy performance and embrace of eclectic percussive styles allowed him to walk away as one of the best drummers of the night. “Lucky Man” and “Get Some” did put a good finish to The Banished’s set, despite the lackluster begining to the performance.

The lights were dimmed out and Revolution Smile hit the stage as the third band to perform.

With only spotlights shining on their faces from down below, Revolution Smile seemed to go for a somber and depressing atmosphere. In a way, that style worked as fans got up closer to witness the performance.

While the talent was there, the band sacrificed the voice for the instruments because of the setup at the Gaslighter.

While many audience members seemed to appreciate the loud riffs and explosive play behind the drums, it was very hard to hear frontman Shaun Lopez’s lyrics. Bassist Octavio Gallardo and drummer Stephen Hoke meshed well together and shook the chairs of the venue.

Finally, local band Eterni took the stage and its local fanbase loaded the front of the stage to experience the return to their origin. They first played at the Gaslighter on Jan. 7. While the band had a great introduction and conclusion to their set, they failed to shine upon their return. Guitarist/vocalist Amir Khostavan entertained the crowd with a short rendition of “Since You’ve Been Gone.”

Shaian Mohammadi returned to his old groove of hard-rocking guitar riffs and played well alongside family member Khostavan.

As promised, “We Over You,” originally Khostavan’s work, was a crowd favorite. Their next show will be at Johnny V’s on May 19 at at 9 p.m.