by Jim Harper

By now it's fairly easy to guess what the next Die Toten Hosen album will sound like, and Unsterblich ("Immortal") does nothing to contradict such predictions. Sadly, the formula that worked so well on 1994's Love Peace & Money sounds tired and flat several years later. Even the traditional forays into other musical styles are done without the usual vigor. All is not entirely lost -- "Lesbiche, Schwarze Behinderte" is a fine slab of punky humor -- but too much of the album falls short of the band's potential.