Our selection of royalty-free cinematic music with an emphasis on tension, danger, nerve, and a sense of unease. Sometimes more subtle and sneaky music, other times more overt threatening music and soundtracks for critical situations, this music is made for action thrillers, police operations, stakeouts, spy / undercover agents, dangerous missions, hurricane-chasing and more.
Foreboding and tension-building action / thriller track with a gritty urban feel. Hard-hitting percussion with hip-hop drums, massive blaring brass and spy thriller like flute riffs combine to make a very ominous and urgent sounding action soundtrack. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 85 BPM]
A very dark, powerful and dramatic horror / thriller track. Foreboding and scary. Eventful and intense. Combining orchestral elements with dark and powerful percussion and choir risers, this horror action track swarms and squirms through various stages and keeps developing throughout. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Medium / 96 BPM]
A brooding and atmospheric music track, featuring a haunting mood of northern cold and tribal beat. Suitable for epic scenery, historical music, cultural themes, indigenous peoples and cultures, far-away lands and amazing stories of wonder and awe. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 75 BPM]
Homage to Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone. Heroic western theme. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
A neo classical soundtrack piece with a sense of passing time, a story unfolding, a process taking place. Pensive, mysterious, uncertain, somewhat dark. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
Ominous and arid western atmosphere, inspired by modern TV drama like Breaking Bad and CSI. Crime and gangster feel, as well as police investigation mood. [Tempo: Slow / 90 BPM]
Use of Eastern percussion to bring across the clash of the titans on the battlefield, coming face to face with your adversary. Gearing for war, high impact, action, battle, fight, conquest, confrontation, combat. Recorder, shakers, dufflis, duff, dhol. [Tempo: Fast / 135 BPM]
Warm and ambient underscore music that build from fast synth to patterns to a airy atmospheric with underlying Les Paul tones. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
Tough to describe in words. A hypnotic dance throb runs through this fairly avante garde track as various synth leads come in and out. Very spacey and yet relentlessly trance inducing. Brings visions of an underground pumping, sweaty nightclub scenario to mind. [Tempo: Medium / 111 BPM]
Foreboding and eerie, dark and mystical, ambient track with an Ethnic / World mystery feel. Wailing ethnic vocal with tribal percussion joining in later. Edgy and musky. Threatening, dark tribe - perhaps vikings, indigenous tribe or tribal warriors. [Tempo: Medium / 117 BPM]
Ominous and tension-building music mood with big drums and choirs. Dramatic / Edgy / Epic music. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 135 BPM]
A transparent film or movie underscore, ambient but with a hint of emotion or personal intrigue. Good for a dark drama, mysterious or understated scene of discovery or reflection. [Tempo: Slow / 65 BPM]
For Thriller, Suspense, Horror, Police, Criminal investigation. Ominous repetitive piano and harp motif builds up into a full orchestral climax. Good for opening credits and crime and investigation series. [Tempo: Medium / 90 BPM]
A nervous / ennerving and pensive orchestral track with epic percussion. A sense of danger and urgency. Good for reality TV / rescue mission, international conflict, armed conflict, military missions, action drama and more. Somewhat heroic / valiant feel. The good guys triumph! A full choir enters towards the end of the composition. This track is also available in an alternative version with an ethnic / exotic Monk voice singing a kind of gurgling vocalizing along with the music, giving the track a more ethnic / strange element. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 105 BPM]
Contemporary cinematic track with an intriguing, exciting and dynamic vibe featuring marimba, xylophone, piano, atmospheric pads, different kinds of percussion and arpeggiated synths, moving bass guitar, orchestral strings and upbeat drums. Suitable for dynamic scenes in films, TV series, commercials, documentaries and more. Exciting, contemporary music track with a unique and captivating vibe. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 150 BPM]
A tribal and primal sounding peace built on percussion grooves and mysterious, drone like synth pulses. Influences from ancient world cultures come together with futuristic, sci-fi type sounds, to create a fusion of past, present and future. Ominous, mysterious, tense. Think tribes, jungle, rainforest, world beat / mystery. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
Monolithic / Uprising / Doomsday / Awe / Amazement. Grand orchestral soundtrack depicting the rise of an awesome power. Judgment day. The hour of truth. Very ominous, malevolent, powerful. Dark, but triumphant, conquering. Good for fantasy, action, sci-fi, horror and adventure. (A note about the version described as 'Stage Mix': This version is recorded with the reverb/ambiance of a concert hall, making it sound somewhat more 'distant' from the listener and, some would say, more 'live') [Tempo: Slow / 60 BPM]
A suspenseful, pulsating music track featuring plucked synths, background guitars, and simple piano melody. Very dramatic and tense mood with a touch of ambient electronica. Elegant / Flowing / Mystical Music. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 85 BPM]
A slightly dark and unsettling orchestral piece that builds in energy as it unfolds. Could be useful in scenes where characters are facing an obstacle, or scenes in which they are trying to find courage. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 68 BPM]
Abrasive and jarring machine-like rhythmic elements, epic and otherworldly with ominous undertones and rising in intensity. Works great with crime, industrial, steampunk and sci-fi scenes. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 126 BPM]
An orchestral trailer with a rich bass that slowly unfolds and builds towards a climax. The woodwinds are inspired by 'The Moldau' by Smetana. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
Cinematic retro synth wave; this track was created using only two vintage hardware synthesizers; a Moog Minimoog model D and a Prophet 5. Strangely futuristic and vintage at the same time. Ambient / Eerie / Synthetic / Retro / Mystery. [Tempo: Medium / 110 BPM]
Low, propulsive, massive bass. Toxic, overdriven percussion. Disturbing main motif on the piano. A sense of sadness, suspension, perpetual tension. Disturbing / Suspenseful / Emotional. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 100 BPM]
An evolving and building, suspenseful music track, combining hybrid & pulsating synths and symphonic orchestra. Ending as a loud trailer piece, with added organ sound. Awe / Majestic / Incredible Music. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
A mysterious, dark, ambient music track made with evolving strings and dark drones. Dark / Sci-Fi / Ambient / Unsettling Music. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
A dark and dramatic, cinematic trailer or action / tension score. Doom-laden / Foreboding / Serious / Tense. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Medium / 90 BPM]
Historical, Barry Lyndon type, civil war music. Would fit a 19th century war / historical feature. Classical war march genre of orchestration, using snare drum roll, piccolo flutes, clarinets, Bass drums, French and English horn. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 110 BPM]
Prepare to enter battle with this tense, epic, cinematic track. Starting with percussion and gradually building with brass, strings, snare drum and even some war cries. Good for movies, video games and tv dramas ranging from ancient times through to futuristic Star Wars type battle scenes. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 70 BPM]
A short track that tells of darkness and sadness. [Tempo: Medium / 90 BPM]
A feeling of suspense and eerieness. Chase, suspense, urgent, uneasy, tension, anticipation. Sneaky tension. World percussion, strings, horns, synths. [Tempo: Medium / 83 BPM]
An upbeat action thriller track with a modern Filmcue vibe: Suspenseful pending build up. Rich in cinematic texture. Great for various cinematic use, ominous background, action suspense segments etc. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 120 BPM]
Electronica, experimental, underscore. Haunting, Techno, Science / electronics. [Tempo: Fast / 144 BPM]
Begins with fast paced electro/rock underscore. Distorted guitars and sounds design are prevalent throughout. At mid-point, the entire orchestra joins in with a trailer-esque choir which builds to a final crescendo with brass stabs for impact. [Tempo: Fast / 150 BPM]
Classic horror flick type material, with mystical chords and stabbing rhythms. Hypnotic feel. The creepy crawlies are out to get you! [Tempo: Slow / 84 BPM]
A mixture of electronic synths, percussion and strings are used to generate a sense of risk. The constant pulse throughout adds to the anxiety, making this ideal for game shows with elimination rounds. [Tempo: Slow / 63 BPM]
Not for the faint-hearted! Menacing Score track with powerful drums and diverse aggressive, distorted sounds. Evil, scary and very dark. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 120 BPM]
Driving Score track with e-guitars, effects and heavy drum/percussion sounds. Edgy, menacing and aggressive. Good for action, pursuits and thrilling fight scenes. [Tempo: Slow / 120 BPM]
Dark and mysterious Score track with strings, horn section, sound effects and energetic percussions. Very atmospheric, dramatic and highly diversified. Ideal for thriller and all kinds of suspense. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 120 BPM]
Dark, aggressive Score track with hard, distorted e-guitars, synths and metallic industrial drumsounds. Energetic and menacing. Good for action and suspense. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 120 BPM]
This is a dark and claustrophobic adventure that’s soon to come to a bloody ending. Transparent piano harmonies accompany a mellow, yet terrifying string melody, building up to an unfortunate ending. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 60 BPM]
There’s a difference between terror and horror. This track is a sonic tale of the inner workings of a demonic serial killer as he/she confesses their brutal crime. It’s a slow buildup of organic string lines and atmospheric tension stretched across two minutes of anxiety and creepiness until the explosive ending. [Tempo: Slow / 60 BPM]
A slow and dramatic hybrid orchestral track that brings to mind struggle, confrontation, battles, war and the fallen soldiers. Reflecting and dwelling on past events. Heavy drums, electronic elements, pulsating strings and slow somber brass. [Tempo: Slow / 108 BPM]
A dark, ominous and dramatic film underscore music using a combination of electronic and orchestral elements. This track starts out sneaky and foreboding with staccato synth pattern and grows over time, gradually building up the intensity towards a climax at about 1:26. An element of mystery, conspiracy and intrigue. A very serious tone which sets the scene for crime, thriller, spy movie/game etc. [Tempo: Slow / 155 BPM]
This frightening music bed has apocalyptic overtones and would be well suited for, horror, thriller, or fantasy footgae about paranormal and occult subject matter as well as video-games and trailers. Its suggests something evil lurking, and makes for a nice tension builder that features an intense, climactic riser. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
Frightening dark ambient horror music bed featuring the sounds of sinister spirits knocking, broken piano, and scary choir. TV static and plenty of door smashes for that extra eerieness well suited for horror, thriller, suspense and fantasy footage, as welll as video games. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
This track has an eerie and deranged mood. It has hints of psychosis and insanity and features the main melody played on a detuned toy music box. It would be well suited for footage and video games about horror, suspense, fantasy and paranormal subject matter. [Tempo: Slow / 0 BPM]
This track is a high Intensity action / chase cue with a primal, menacing tone. It's full of suspense and works well for footage of battles, war scenes, chases, and beasts. It's also well suited for video games and builds into a riser at the end that has a cinematic impact great for film trailers. Apocalypto meets Jurassic Park. [Tempo: Fast / 125 BPM]
Useful for animation and short animated story of two parts. Anxiety and mystery, thrill and unanswered riddle in first part. Then it quickly switches to second part which has more tension and is more dynamic, pefect for telling sad story about kind of bad thing which happened somewhere. [Tempo: Medium / 122 BPM]
Dark, evil, wicked, sinister, unnerving, cinematic, haunting, disturbed soundtrack to impending danger. Scary, edgy, bleak, ominous, doomy soundscape for use in horror / halloween / space / crime / murder type projects. [Tempo: Slow / 100 BPM]
This track combines strange noises with unusual, repeated, freaky piano melodies. This would work well as part of a freaky dream or nightmare sequence. It also could work quite well in the horror genre or during a haunting. Also quite perfect for Halloween and haunted houses. [Tempo: Slow / 0 BPM]