MAIDEN, SISTER AT LONG BEACH: While Paul...

MAIDEN, SISTER AT LONG BEACH: While Paul Rodgers and Jimmy Page’s Firm obviously was the biggest story, the other source of hard-rock hoopla Thursday was a second significant pairing--Iron Maiden and Twisted Sister, two hot heavy-metal outfits who opened their four-night stand at the Long Beach Arena.

Too bad the music didn’t measure up to all the excitement surrounding the pairing. There’s no question that Iron Maiden’s busy, high-speed metal conveyed power and energy at every turn. The problem with this tuneless Osterizer rock, however, was that each song sounded almost identical to the previous one.

The English quintet seemed to acknowledge this limitation by downshifting to bang the head slowly on “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and by trotting out every arena-rock trick in the book, which may have disguised--but certainly didn’t alter--the fact that Iron Maiden’s songs remained the same.

In contrast, Twisted Sister clearly understands the value of variety, coating some of its tunes with a more melodic sheen. And while the New York band may not boast Maiden’s sheer intensity, it more than compensates with Dee Snider, who connects with his audience as effectively as any hard-rock frontman. Of course, his bizarro charisma would be even more admirable if he were less inclined to hurl insults and expletives at the crowd.

The bands conclude the Long Beach engagement Sunday and play the San Diego Sports Arena next Saturday. Iron Maiden will be at the Orange Pavilion in San Bernardino on March 26.