11 Perfect Upbeat Bangers by Depressing Rock + Metal Bands To Brighten Your Day

Life sometimes calls for that upbeat song when everything else has got you down — but what happens when you don't want to cheat on your favorite depressing rock or metal band?

Thankfully, some of the darkest acts, such as The Cure and Type O Negative, have provided fans with the perfect remedy for those moments when you need to jumpstart your day while still being a little moody at the same time.

Here are 11 upbeat songs by rock and metal bands that are known for their dark, depressing music.

American Football, "Desire Gets In the Way"

There is a happy sadness when it comes to listening to American Football. It's Midwest emo meeting the sound of guilt and remorse. On the band's second album, they pick up the tempo during "Desire Gets in the Way."

There's also a mention of lingerie, which doesn't happen often in emo music from this region.

American Football, "Desire Gets In the Way"

Amigo The Devil, "One Kind of People"

Amigo The Devil delivers a positive message cloaked in darkness on "One Kind of People." Death awaits all of us, no matter our backgrounds or how we choose to live our lives. We're all the same in the end.

Amigo The Devil, "One Kind of People"

The Cure, "Friday, I'm In Love"

"Friday, I'm in Love" is not only one of the sweetest titles on this list, but it also stands out as one of the most upbeat love songs of its time.

Robert Smith sings about watching someone eat after midnight while also making the suggestion to "throw out your frown and just smile at the sound." Done and done.

The Cure, "Friday I'm In Love"

Death Cab for Cutie, "The Sound of Settling"

This one is all about the chorus. "Bop bah, this is the sound of settling," sings Death Cab's Ben Gibbard. It's just enough to make you look past to rest of the song, which focuses on holding back what you really want to say and missing out on love because of it.

Death Cab for Cutie, "The Sound of Settling"

Explosions in the Sky, "Your Hand In Mine"

How could a band whose songs have no lyrics be depressing?

Spend some time with any of Explosion in the Sky's albums and try not to feel some type of way when you are hit with big swells of sound only for them to dissipate into a faint twinkle of a guitar. They say everything without saying anything. "Your Hand In Mind" has a slow lift off on the way to a triumphant climax.

The 8-minute ride eventually settles into a groove that will make you want to get back in line to do it all over again once it stops.

Explosions in the Sky, "Your Hand in Mine"

Katatonia, "My Twin"

Swedish metal band Kataonia decided to skip the dark and brooding tone found in the rest of their songs in favor of something more upbeat on "My Twin," a song about *checks notes* a cheating lover. Well, at least something good came out of the relationship.

Katatonia, "My Twin"

The National, "Abel"

The National have embraced the whole depressing vibe thing, even selling merch promoting the band as "Sad Dads."

Frequent themes of anxiety, pain and the big depresh play out as the band ramps up its intensity throughout each song. With that comes lead singer Matt Berninger's seemingly descent into madness.

But with "Abel," Berninger is already at his lowest out of the gate as he repeatedly screams "my mind's not right" to start the song.

The National, "Abel"

Radiohead, "How Do You?"

Hearing early Radiohead can feel like listening to an entirely different band that never produced more dispiriting albums OK Computer and In Rainbows. For much of the band's debut, Pablo Honey, they take on more of a Britpop persona that is at its most upbeat when "How Do You?" hits.

Radiohead, "How Do You?"

The Smiths, "Cemetery Gates"

Four songs into 1986's The Queen Is Dead, The Smiths are at their bleakest with the plodding "Never Had No One."

But before you assume all hope is lost, the band closes out Side one with the upbeat (and rather poppy) "Cemetery Gates." It serves as the perfect shot of adrenaline to help carry on the sadness to Side B.

The Smiths, "Cemetery Gates"

Type O Negative, "I Don't Wanna Be Me"

Peter Steele is capable of sounding peppy even with his notoriously deep voice, which was a trademark of Type O Negative's darkest songs.

Steele picks up the tempo to meet the rest of the band's hard-charging effort on "I Don't Wanna Be Me." The song hints at drug addiction and death, but it really doesn't come across as depressing as its subject matter.

Type O Negative, "I Don't Wanna Be Me"

Woods of Ypres, "Wet Leather"

Canada's Woods of Ypres was more known for their sprawling doom metal, but a case could be made that "Wet Leather" is almost the exact opposite. The 2009 track leads with the line "life is just pain and piss," which is repeated 11 more times over the course of four and a half minutes.

There's no time for meandering or agonizing. This straightforward, upbeat metal song is one of their best.

Woods of Ypres, "Wet Leather"