Mythic Maiden Misses

** IRON MAIDEN. “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.” Capitol. The base of heavy metal is bravado--false or otherwise. Kids listen to it to get pumped up. Metal with real magic can make head-bangers feel as if they’re 10 feet tall.

The best of Iron Maiden, like this album’s soaring “The Evil That Men Do,” has that effect. When Bruce Dickinson cranks up his air-raid siren of a voice and guitarists Dave Murray and Adrian Smith have their two-pronged attack in super sync, Maiden really soars.

But too much of “Seventh Son” is swathed in bargain-basement mysticism. The British quintet is going for the epic and the mythic instead of focusing on just plain fury. Songs like “Moonchild,” “The Prophecy,” “The Clairvoyant” and “Infinite Dreams” are cluttered with lofty ideas. There’s not much here that a teen-age boy bent on rebellion can relate to.

In heavy metal, frills merely obscure the essence, and hard-core head-bangers often have to fight their way past the frills to get to the core of Maiden. Sometimes, as on its 1984 “Powerslave” album, it’s worth the fight. When it sinks to simplicity, Maiden is one of best metal bands. But on this album, Maiden doesn’t peak often enough.

Iron Maiden is one of the old-line metal bands that have made it in America without radio. But with the likes of Whitesnake and Bon Jovi getting so much airplay, Maiden figures it, too, may have a chance now. The single “Can I Play With Madness” is crafted for radio--it’s slick and melodious, with Dickinson’s vocals toned down. This Maiden stab at pop metal isn’t bad at all.

CHECK LIST

**** Great Balls of Fire

*** Good Vibrations

** Maybe Baby

* Running on Empty