As the Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade

As the Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade is the second album by British singer Mark Stewart, released in 1985 through Mute Records.

As the Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade
Studio album by Mark Stewart
Released	November 1985
Genre	Industrial, post-punk, noise[1]
Length	39:12
Label	Mute
Producer	Adrian Sherwood, Mark Stewart
Mark Stewart chronology
Learning to Cope with Cowardice (1983) As the Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade (1985) Mark Stewart + Maffia (1986)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]

Reception

John Leland at Spin said the album was "removed from the realm of music and in an electronic theater of guerrilla news reportage. Despite a steady beat provided by the Maffia, the album sounds less like dance music than the end of the world. Its a scary mess of random sounds, spoken words, and tiny snippets of music, processed and distorted to a grating, electric edge."^[3]

Accolades

Year	Publication	Country	Accolade	Rank	Ref.
1985	Rockerilla	Italy	"Albums of the Year"	18	[4]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mark Stewart.

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Passcivecation Program"	7:06
2.	"Bastards"	5:26
3.	"The Resistance of the Cell"	5:21
4.	"[untitled]"	0:44

Side two

No.	Title	Length
1.	"As the Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade"	5:37
2.	"Hypnotized"	5:51
3.	"Slave of Love"	4:46
4.	"The Waiting Room"	4:18

CD Version

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Passcivecation Program"	7:06
2.	"Bastards"	5:26
3.	"The Resistance of the Cell"	5:21
4.	"[untitled]"	0:44
5.	"As the Veneer of Democracy Starts to Fade"	5:37
6.	"Pay It All Back"	4:29
7.	"Hypnotized"	5:51
8.	"Slave of Love"	4:46
9.	"The Waiting Room"	4:18
10.	"Hypnotized" (remix)	7:25
11.	"Dreamers"	6:30

Personnel

Mark Stewart and the Maffia

• Mark Stewart – vocals, production
• Keith LeBlanc – drums
• Skip McDonald – guitar
• Adrian Sherwood – keyboards, production
• Doug Wimbish – bass

Additional musicians and production

• Jill Mumford – design
• Tim Young – mastering

Charts

Chart (1985)	Peak position
UK Indie Chart[5]	3