Troy Gentry, half of the country duo Montgomery Gentry, died in September in a helicopter crash near where he was set to perform in New Jersey. The fatal crash was caused by an engine failure several minutes after the helicopter took off. Since his death, country stars from Vince Gill to Dierks Bentley and Rascal Flatts have paid tribute to Gentry's life. Now, in an interview with People, Montgomery is talking about how his musical partner's death has affected him emotionally. "A little piece of my soul got lost there," Montgomery said. "It was a horrific day, my world changed as much as the band did. It's something that you never get over. It's going to be in my mind and my soul for the rest of my life."Montgomery said that he and Gentry constantly talked about their musical legacy. "It's weird, I always thought it was going to be me that went down first," he said. "He was more than just a singer. He was a brother and he was always there. As far as I'm concerned, we're still making music together."A week after Gentry's death, the band released their new song, "Better Me," off their upcoming 2018 album. And Montgomery said he plans on hitting the road to promote the songs that they made together, for the sake of his memory and for the sake of their fans. He recently performed during the CMA Awards' tribute to Troy. "We never called anyone fans—we called them friends," he said. "And Me and Troy have been blessed over the years to have a lot of friends."