After 36 years, venerated skate punk/cross-over legends The Boneless Ones celebrate their much-anticipated return with new album, Back to the Grind. Featuring founding members Max Fox (vocals) and Troy Takaki (bass) with erstwhile drummer Chris Kontos (ex-Attitude Adjustment, ex-Machine Head) and new guitarist Craig Locicero (Dress the Dead, ex-Forbidden), the Bay Area quartet breathe present-day life into the sounds/customs that crucially bridged punk, hardcore, metal, and skateboarding. The group’s 1986 debut, Skate for the Devil, was (and still is) a counterculture rallying cry, with Thrasher Magazine calling [the song] “Skate for the Devil” one of the greatest skate rock songs of all time. Over the years, covert marketing by Takaki has positioned The Boneless Ones in Hollywood movies (Diary of a Wimpy Kid [as Löded Diper], The Bounty Hunter), skate videos (with pro Grant Taylor), and other entertainment mediums. With Back to the Grind, the Berkeley, California-originated notables continue that tradition with prime music spots in downhill skater documentary Nick Broms: What’s the Rush? and HBO Max series Dead Boy Detectives. Musically, The Boneless Ones thrust mid-’80s cross-over tenets into the modern era. Kontos and Locicero have brought in compositional heft and knowhow, while Fox and Takaki keep things honestly rooted in songs “Back to the Grind,” “We Ride the Night,” “Bones of Rock,” and “I Wish You Were a Beer,” the follow-up to “Miss Fresno.” Recorded by Zack ‘The Wizard’ Ohren (Machine Head, Fallujah) at Oakland-based Sharkbite Studios, mixed by Grammy Award-winning mixing engineer Matt Winegar (Fantastic Negrito, Primus), and mastered by guru Ed Littman for Ed Littman Mastering, Back to the Grind positively booms, sounding as intense from skatepark loudspeakers as it does on streaming playback. The group had renowned artist Mark DeVito (Metallica, Motörhead) illustrate a new logo and a raging cover to seal the deal. It’s not the ‘80s anymore, but the era’s spirit is alive (and well) on Back to the Grind. The Boneless Ones are back! Gnarly.