MIXED MEDIA: <i> A periodic look at pop-related books, videos and laser discs. : </i>

QUEENSRYCHE “Video: mindcrime.” EMI Video. $16.98.

You’ve heard of the banality of evil. And the banality of bad heavy metal is no secret at all. Here, they’re joined on video--the poppy journeyman progressive metal of Queensryche (which, despite certain Bono-esque imagery, is pretty darned banal) and the standard-issue found-video footage familiar from a decade of politically correct clips. The marriage is apt. Here you’ll find the burning flags, the riots, the nuns, the guns of real life, man, intercut with moody beer-commercial footage of posturing guitarists and a pouting singer. The symbolism’s not exactly subtle--when the lyrics refer to money, the camera cuts to a stack of greenbacks--and Russian roulette was a hackneyed metaphor when Tolstoy used it. Still, it’s a tad more sophisticated than another in-depth survey of Tawny Kitaen’s taut rump.