Dierks Bentley was by his father's side when he died two years ago. Now the country superstar confesses he hears his dad in four songs on the first album he's released since his dad passed way.

His father Leon Bentley, who passed away on June 1, 2012, loved George Strait and Hank Williams, but mostly, he just loved country music and always had country radio on in his car.

"He loved that even if you didn't know a song, you could almost guess the next line," Bentley recalls, iHeart Radio reports. "He loved the simplicity of it. You could always be singing along to it."

To be certain, the singer has not used - and will not use - his father's passing as a play for sympathy or for false mourning. Grieving was a natural part of the process, and the exploration that the grieving fostered - about life, about urgency, about making a difference - has been substantial.

"So many people are going through so many worse things than me," Bentley reasons, as reported by the Green Room. "A parent passing away, in their 80s, peacefully with people around them - that's about as good as it gets. It's hard to wind up the old record player with that one and give it too much sympathy."

Even so, he confesses he misses his dad.

"It's a stinker, though, no matter what way you look at it. It shakes things up. Like those times you think to pick up the phone and call your dad, you're like 'Shit. He's not there.' Things that kind of change up your perspective of how old you are and where you fit in the family dynamic."

The songs on Bentley's "Riser" album that make the singer think about his late father are "Here on Earth," "Bourbon in Kentucky," "Damn These Dreams" and "I Hold On," a song written by Bentley and Brett James that deftly pins spiritual questions to an old pickup truck. The song opens with a truck that provides a physical embodiment of Bentley's connection to the father who's no longer a part of this world, according to the Green Room.

Bentley's five previous albums have sold more than 5 million copies and the singer has garnered 11 GRAMMY nominations and Grand Ole Opry membership. His album "Home" debuted at No. 1 and yielded three consecutive chart-topping hits, giving him 10 No. 1 songs total in his career.

While "Riser" grapples with difficult subjects, it's hardly a downer. The album ultimately conveys a sense of hope and continuity, spiked with the right amount of levity.

Appropriately, the album was influenced by the loss of Bentley's father and was released just months after the birth of the star's first son. To complete the universal circle of life, Knox Bentley came into the world Oct. 9 of last year, joining his older sisters, Evalyn Day, then 5, and Jordan Catherine, then 2-and-a-half.

"One Bentley is going out and one Bentley is coming in," Bentley mused at the time. "A name gets passed down, which is pretty cool."