Band-specific apps from the Pussycat Dolls, Souljah Boy, the All-American Rejects, and now Alice In Chains, are rapidly taking hold of the iPhone App Store, but are they worth the price of admission?
The answer probably depends on what you intend to get out of your app experience. All of the previously mentioned bands’ apps have one thing in common — they function primarily as mini-stores.
You can purchase songs, albums, and in some cases merchandise, directly on the app. Of course, you can also purchase those same songs in the iTunes store that every iPhone comes built in with, which means that in order to stand out, these bands’ apps needs to offer a little more oomph, and Alice In Chains’ app does a decent job.
Its most unique feature is the built-in stream of the band’s latest record, Black Gives Way To Blue. Users can listen to clips of each of the album’s songs while they play with interactive backgrounds that can be moved around to reveal visual tricks. It’s not much, but it gives AIC enthusiasts at least some incentive to check the app out.
The rest of the app is by the book, complete with a wall you can post on with other AIC fans and some exclusive free videos and audio clips. It seems unlikely that the Alice In Chains app would convert any non-believers at this point, but for anyone who was ever a fan, you couldn’t ask for much more outside of official lyrics or guitar tablature.
