Alice Cooper - Killer

This record seems to be an earlier press or in my opinion a test copy of Killer from the Academy Record Company in Korea. I believe they are of the same maker because of the similarities between the two. Both records have the same thin plastic-coated envelope style sleeve with their respective versions of “68” in the top left corner. Both sleeves are poorly printed with little contrast, off center, and with one color. They both have their respective ways of covering the Original Warner Brothers logo in the bottom left corner. The labels on the vinyl both have the exact same typos; For example: “Halo of tlies”, “bemy lover”, and “You dri e me nervous”. The formats of the labels are very similar despite this copy not having any branding and on the left side of both of the labels is “HD 68”. Both of the labels also have the song ordered from 1-4 on both side 1 and 2 instead of the more common 1-4 & 5-8. On both this copy and the brown Academy Record Copies the first side and first side only is printed off center which causes pitch shifting while playing. Both sides also have their fair share of static noise within the press. I believe this to be “prototype” copy because there is no branding and everything is very “homemade”. The title and artist name on the front seems to have been darkened with ink after the printing process, so had the “68” in the top left corner. There is no company or maker marked anywhere with the label just being stamped the basic/necessary information. However it does provide the information that it is made in Korea, the same place that the Academy Record Company is based. There are a few numbers around the label: “BS-2567”, “RB-684”, “RE-3 40015”, “EU-220-II”
The number including “EU” makes me think that this record was copied from a European version of Killer, but I know nothing of these serial or catalog numbers so that is purely speculation. Because of all of that information I am forced to believe that this record, which only one is known to exist, is an early/test/proto pressing of Killer from the Academy Record Company. The sound quality is actually quite clear, there is a decent amount of static noise and the bass is the quietest and weakest part of the mix which is in stark contrast to the official pressing which have superb bass which shines on tracks like “Dead Babies”. But the mids and highs actually stand out quite a bit and leave you hearing some details you might not have noticed on the official mix/press. Overall this isn’t a quality record overall but it is very cool. A huge Alice Cooper fan like myself greatly enjoys these quirky bootleg items. And it is very cool that some people (possibly only one person) decided to create their own pressings in South Korea, a place I am assuming didn’t have great access to foreign rock music, and shared it with their local community. These Academy Record Company records certainly don’t hold up to any official pressings but they are definitely good enough to listen to and enjoyable to listen to.