Early history Sielun Veljet was formed shortly after
Hassisen Kone, a successful and well-known
new wave band, disbanded. Singer-guitarist Alanko and guitarist Jukka Orma wanted to start making a totally different kind of music than what Hassisen Kone had done and what the Finnish public expected of them. The band was complete with bassist Jouko Hohko and drummer Alf Forsman. The band's live performances were loud, energetic and extremely intensive from the beginning, and people soon stopped expecting another Hassisen Kone. The concerts were sometimes extremely long—one gig in
Nivala in the 1980s lasted for four and a half hours and ended only when security personnel forced Alanko off the stage. The band's
self-titled debut album was recorded live in 1983. Shortly thereafter, with the 1983
EP Lapset and the 1984 album
Hei soturit, the band started slowly gaining popularity.
Breakthrough ''
L'amourha'' (1985) became the critical and commercial breakthrough for Sielun Veljet, and remains by far their highest selling album. "Peltirumpu" became the band's first real hit. The album and its follow-up
Kuka teki huorin (1986) are considered the most accessible Sielun Veljet recordings, and remain the band's only studio album
gold records. The song "On Mulla Unelma" (I have a dream) from ''L'Amourha'' album was banned by Finnish national broadcasting company,
YLE, after it was performed by the band in the Härmärock television show that was broadcast on independence day. The song's lyrics blaspheme
Finnish national symbols. After
Kuka teki huorin, Sielun Veljet started re-recording some of their material in English to find an audience outside Finland. They recorded an
EP Ritual (1986) and the album
Shit-Hot (1987) using the alias L'amourder. The name is a direct translation of the name of their most successful album – "murha" means "murder" in Finnish. A tour in Europe followed, and the band was even allowed to tour in
Soviet Russia, which proved to be a success.
Suomi-Finland (1988), recorded in Finnish, saw Sielun Veljet moving into a more
acoustic sound than before. The album's lyrics concentrated on the issues present in late 1980s Finland, such as the growing influence of American culture. == Influence ==