“With Heaven on Top,” Zach Bryan’s sixth studio album, released Jan. 9, is now officially Bryan’s second album to reach the number one spot on the Billboard 200 charts. The Grammy-winning singer and songwriter has taken listeners on a journey through his roots across 25 songs. Reaching nearly 80-minutes long, this album is a testimony to Bryan’s growing creativity and confidence as a storyteller and composer.
Bryan begins the album with a reflective piece titled “Down, Down, Stream” that sounds more like spoken-word poetry than a typical song. With this piece, he invites listeners into his world of vulnerability and intimacy, setting a tone that emphasizes the lyricism and emotional honesty they will experience as they listen more.
During the song, an elderly apartment owner confronts Bryan about how life passed by so “downstream” that he felt as if he had no time to grasp it. Bryan turns this into a positive outlook on his past, explaining how memories can fade away rather than being burdens forever. His monologue brings a sense of nostalgia. It tells listeners to prepare for stories of movement, memories and emotional reflection as they ripple through his album. Through his bold choice of opening with a spoken-word poem, he leaves listeners eager for the music to come.
A couple of the tracks that follow “Down, Down, Stream” have already become fan favorites. Two songs have reached Bryan’s top 10 most-played list on Spotify already, with “Plastic Cigarette” coming in at number four and “Say Why” at number six. These songs contain lyrics describing a rough period of battling addiction.
“Plastic Cigarette” depicts the end of an unstable relationship. The term “plastic” can refer to how the relationship was almost unreal or fake. Though comforting, the relationship lacked the stability and substance to make it last. The song also comes with much self-reflection, containing lyrics wondering about the lost love like “Did you ever make it back to Byron Bay the day you told me to quit drinkin’?” Instead of anger, Bryan accepts how and why things ended.
“Say Why” is an exploration of Bryan’s grief and addiction. He makes references to spending his last pennies on alcohol to cope with his inner pain. The song embodies a sense of loss and repeats the phrase “say why” to explain how some situations have no answers. These songs give listeners a deeper sense of Zach Bryan’s inner emotions, helping people realize that even the big stars in the world battle their own demons.
Although so far his new releases sound depressing, the whole album is not gloomy. “Slicked Back” is a song written for Bryan’s wife, Samantha Leonard Bryan, whom he recently married in December 2025. He honors her down-to-earth spirit, referencing how his past relationships loved to flaunt their lives while she distances herself from an online presence and enjoys hobbies such as painting instead. He prefers her authenticity and expresses how she is someone he wants to spend the rest of his days with. In the song, he uses the question “When I get to Hell or Heaven, can I bring my girl?” to reference how she is the peace and happiness in his life that he never wants to leave behind.
He also has the track “Anyways,” which presents an uplifting attitude towards continuing to move forward with life. His message to “play anyway” urges people not to give up and hide when life seems to fall apart but to persevere through these times. Through all the doubt and fear, he persuades his listeners to keep pushing on. Although some of his songs can come across as upsetting, he also gives more uplifting options to keep listeners’ spirits high.
Finally, Bryan ends his album with the song “With Heaven on Top,” focusing on life’s hard lessons but also finding hope. In this song, listeners hear Bryan’s acceptance of the painful experiences. He uses the lyrics “going through hell with heaven on top” to show that as he goes through what feels like the end of the world, he can still find hope and peace through it all.
Zach Bryan also tells listeners, “You won’t find no answers safe at home.” He expresses how you cannot learn what heartache truly feels like until you get out into the world and battle it yourself. The song reflects on his own journey through addiction. He uses the idea of heaven being on top to give a sense of comfort and protection. The song also emphasizes the importance of living with your own choices. Bryan encourages his audience to live their choices fully and be themselves without pretending.
The meaningful album shows an evolution of how Zach Bryan has become the artist he is today. He manages to balance his album with personal yet relatable context to make listeners want to find a spot for his songs in their playlists. Zach Bryan’s story is proof that, though life might feel like hell, there is always heaven on top.
Fans can listen to his story firsthand when Bryan performs at Davis Wade Stadium on May 2 during his “With Heaven on Tour.”
