Madsen

The punk-pop group Madsen from Germany took its name from the three brothers who form the band's foundation—Sebastian on vocals and guitar, Johannes handling lead guitar, and Sascha on drums—all hailing from the Wendlands region. During their teenage years, the brothers started working together musically, and by the late 1990s they had established the hard rock act Alice's Gun. This was succeeded by the rap-metal endeavor Hoerstuatz, before a pivot to punk sounds occurred in 2004, at which point bassist Niko Maurer and keyboardist Folkert Jahnke joined to round out the five-piece Madsen lineup. Universal Music inked a deal with the group toward the close of that year, leading to the release of their first single "Die Perfektion" during spring 2005. Just weeks afterward came the band's self-titled debut album, which climbed into Germany's Top 20 thanks to strong showings at major events like Rock am Ring and Nova Rock. The follow-up effort Goodbye Logik in 2006 performed stronger still, achieving a Top Ten placement.