Defenders of New Mexico: Remembering Judas Priest's Forgotten New Mexico Album

Fans of Judas Priest know about Rob Halford’s history with Arizona but the band has a history with the state of New Mexico too. The band’s heyday was, without a doubt, during the 80s. One of their concerts at Albuquerque’s Tingley Coliseum became one of their most famous thanks in part to it becoming a live album.

What was Judas Priest’s New Mexico live album?

On May 2, 1984, the metal gods would perform at the Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, New Mexico while on their Metal Conqueror Tour. They would play a total of 20 songs including hits like “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’”, “Breaking the Law”, & “Defenders of the Faith”. Someone would record that very same concert and take the audio to create a live album that went under a few names: “New Mexican Radio“, “Live Bites  ’84” and my personal favorite: “Defending New Mexico“.

Judas Priest would play New Mexico at least 10 times since 1980; the last being August 10, 2009 at the Sandia Casino in Albuquerque. If you want to listen to the whole 1984 ABQ concert, you can find a playlist with all the songs from the very show on YouTube here.

Judas Priest wasn’t the only metal band with a forgotten live album; Metallica had one entirely dedicated to an 80’s El Paso performance that you can check out here. U2 also have a live album that was recorded in New Mexico, you can read more about that story here.