After long and anxious wait for fans, Dierks Bentley has finally announced a release date for his seventh studio album, 'Riser.'

On Feb. 25, Bentley will release the album which holds his current hit, 'I Hold On.' He says the new album will have a lot of heavy stories that needed to be told, but there's also a balance with some of his lighter tunes, too. It's no surprise he's showing both emotions -- Bentley has been through a lot since he started writing for this album.

“I named the album 'Riser' because the lyrics in that song perfectly articulate who I want to be, who I try to be,” the singer explains in a press release. "There's a lot of really intense material on this record, but there's also a lighter side that is equally important in telling the story of the last two years of my life."

He continues, "When I first started writing for this album, I was in a place of grief over the loss of my dad, but over the course of the next 18 months, my wife and I had our son Knox, and I ended in a place of real joy and gratefulness. Both sides of that coin are what country music has always been about, and I hope that my fans can feel how much of myself I put into this project. It's all out on the table, for sure."

To get a little taste of what's to come on his next album, check out the behind-the-scenes video of the album-making process. Right at album release time, Bentley will be in Mexico to perform at the first-annual Tropical Nights: Boots in the Sand Event. Want to join him? More info here.