Brantley Gilbert has more music coming out later this year. The father of two announces the release of So Help Me God (Deluxe Edition), out on April 21. The record will include all ten songs on the original record, released in November, plus five new tracks, all co-written by Gilbert.
“We’ve always been a little outside of the box when it comes to writing and recording,” Gilbert explains. “It’s not necessarily something we’ve done on purpose, but it tends to happen because we always try to serve the song as it takes shape rather than shaping the song to serve us.
“If a song is asking for a harder edge, let’s do that,” he adds. “If it feels a little more introspective, let’s lean into that. This album intersects across a lot of different genres, and we’re proud to say that it’s something that happened naturally.”
Gilbert’s current single, “Heaven By Then,” features two of his musical heroes, Blake Shelton and Vince Gill.
“I’ve been a big fan of [Blake’s] for a long time,” Gilbert revealed on Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen. “Blake’s one of those that he’s always been nothing but kind and cool to me. When I came on the scene, especially back when I was drinking, I was a little different. I looked a little different, acted a little different than a lot of these cats up here. And it never bothered him a bit. He’s just always treated me the same and been kind to me, and I’ve always appreciated that …If I had a bucket list, he’d be on it.”
It wasn’t until Gilbert was recording “Heaven By Then” that he realized what Gill could potentially add to the song, if he would agree to lend his talents to the track.
“There’s an undeniable high part, the high harmony that needs to be there, but I wasn’t getting there,” Gilbert recalled. “I mean, it was almost immediate. You just know when you hear that part, it’s like, ‘Dude, if Vince Gill did this, it would be unreal.’ What are the chances of getting two legends, in my opinion, on the same song? And he signed off on it and did it, and it came back and it sounded like… It was just a pinch-yourself moment. I’ll never be able to tell those guys, but even for a songwriter, it’s hard to find words to thank somebody for that.”
Gilbert also recently revealed he was also working on a project with Jelly Roll. See a track list for So Help Me God (Deluxe Edition) below. Gilbert will spend part of this year on the road with Nickelback on their Get Rollin’ Tour. Find music and tour dates, and pre-order So Help Me God (Deluxe Edition) at BrantleyGilbert.com.
Read ’12 Country Music Singers Who Are Sober’ here.
So Help Me God (Deluxe Edition) Track List:
1. Heaven By Then with Blake Shelton featuring Vince Gill (Brantley Gilbert, Brock Berryhill, Michael Hardy, Jake Mitchell, Randy Montana, Hunger Phelps, Taylor Phillips)
2. Rolex® On A Redneck featuring Jason Aldean (Brantley Gilbert, Brock Berryhill, Michael Hardy, Randy Montana, Taylor Phillips)
3. Miles of Memories (Brantley Gilbert, Brock Berryhill, Josh Phillips)
4. She’s The One (Brantley Gilbert, Brock Berryhill, Taylor Phillips)
5. The Worst Country Song Of All Time featuring Toby Keith and HARDY (Brantley Gilbert, Michael Hardy, Hunter Phelps, Will Weatherly)
6. Son Of The Dirty South featuring Jelly Roll (Brantley Gilbert, Andrew Baylis, Jason Bradley DeFord)
7. How To Talk To Girls (Brantley Gilbert, Brock Berryhill, Brian Wayne Davis, Brandon Day, Chase McGill, Josh Phillips, Taylor Phillips, Michael Ray)
8. Little Piece of Heaven (Brantley Gilbert, Brock Berryhill, Greylan James, Taylor Phillips, Cole Taylor)
9. Gone But Not Forgotten (Brantley Gilbert, Brock Berryhill, Jason Blaine, Jay Brunswick)
10. So Help Me God (Brantley Gilbert, Michael Hardy, Hunter Phelps, Will Weatherly)
11. Wrote The Book Around Here (Brantley Gilbert, Hunter Phelps, Josh Phillips, Will Weatherly)
12. Tailgates Of Heaven (Brantley Gilbert, Derek George, Josh Phillips)
13. Bury Me Upside Down (Brantley Gilbert, Brock Berryhill, Brian Davis, Brandon Day, Chase McGill, Josh Phillips, Taylor Phillips, Michael Ray)
14. All Over The Map (Brantley Gilbert, Randy Montana, Josh Phillips, Will Weatherly)
15. Behind The Times (Brantley Gilbert, Jake Mitchell, Randy Montana, Taylor Phillips)