Some stories fade out quietly. Zach Bryan is ending his with a scar and a song.
The Oklahoma native has always worn his emotions in his writing, and on his sixth studio album, With Heaven on Top, he’s once again laying everything bare. One track in particular, “Skin,” has fans doing double takes — and maybe pouring another drink — because it sounds an awful lot like Bryan finally addressing his ex, Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia. And this time, he isn’t sugarcoating a thing.
Even though Bryan is now married to Samantha Leonard, the fallout from his chaotic and highly public split with Brianna has lingered for more than a year. She hasn’t exactly been quiet, detailing her side of the relationship on her podcast and describing it as emotionally damaging, complete with eyebrow-raising claims about an alleged multi-million-dollar NDA and a blowup involving a Morgan Wallen song. Bryan, meanwhile, stayed mostly silent — until this album.
“Skin” plays like a pressure valve finally releasing. He never calls her out directly, but the imagery leaves little room for doubt. He sings about wanting to erase reminders etched into his body, symbolically cutting ties with the parts of her that still linger. Brianna once talked openly about tattooing one of his lyrics on her arm, and it’s been reported that Bryan had ink connected to her long before they officially became a couple.
The message isn’t sadness — it’s finality. This isn’t a man mourning what he lost. It’s someone drawing a hard line and refusing to cross it again.
And the song doesn’t stop there. In the next verse, Bryan turns a sharper eye toward her behavior, questioning her sense of superiority and how she treats the people around her. But he doesn’t pretend to be innocent. He admits his own faults and makes it clear he’s learning to carry them without spiraling or numbing himself.
It sounds like someone exhausted by chaos, done being misread, and no longer interested in fighting the same battles. It’s easily the most direct Bryan has ever been — not dramatic, not vengeful, just painfully honest.
“Skin” may be the most talked-about track, but it isn’t alone in revisiting the past. Songs like “Plastic Cigarette” and the title track feel like reflections from a chapter he’s actively closing. As a whole, the album leans toward maturity and self-awareness. There’s no plea for sympathy here — just the sound of someone rebuilding piece by piece.
That rebuilding is even clearer on the other side of the record. Tracks like “Slicked Back” and “Runny Eggs” offer warmth and vulnerability, almost certainly inspired by Samantha Leonard, whom Bryan married on New Year’s Eve. The contrast is stark. Where “Skin” is tense and cutting, these songs feel settled and sincere, marking a clear separation between who he was and who he’s trying to be now.
Brianna has told her version loudly and often. Now Bryan is responding in the only language he’s ever truly trusted: music. Whether the full truth ever becomes clear to the public is beside the point. What’s obvious is that Zach Bryan is finished reliving the wreckage — and ready to move forward, one honest lyric at a time.