1985 original LP with custom inner sleeve. Mega-rare cover variant which has faces with printed purple makeup on front. This variant cover was likely a one-off printed by the album cover fabricator before mass-production and was subsequently rejected. The shade of the blue and the green lips on this cover (near bottom) is darker than the released version. That’s because the purple ink is underneath the blue and the green, which indicates the purple ink was printed first. Also, the cover construction is identical to the released version. Of course, it is also possible that someone at the factory printed it as a one-off novelty for themselves. Although the band had been without makeup since 1983's "Lick It Up," it is unknown whether the decision to go with a makeup-less design on "Asylum" was made before anyone in the group saw this design. This may be the only known copy. This cover has been inspected by graphic artists, printers, and others. All have confirmed that it was printed at the time of manufacture, and has not been altered after the fact, painted or hand-drawn. Cover shows mild to moderate edge and corner wear. Small sticker removal blemish near top corner at opening on front. A handful of small nicks around the edges, mostly visible on back. All four corners "pushed" and "balding." Includes Letter Of Inspection from Poster Mountain (Northridge, CA) which states "There is no evidence to support [the cover] having been added by hand, because there is no difference in texture as a result of the unusual pigment. Furthermore the unusual coloration pigment is not soluble in water or basic solvent."
