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.
Begins with a hypnotic synth bass hook and drum hook. As electric piano comes in, it slowly builds and eventually flowers into a lovely mellow pop chorus. Once the beat gets to you, it is mesmerizing. [Tempo: Medium / 160 BPM]
Orchestral tension, movie soundtrack underscore. Tension, disturbing, anxious. [Tempo: Medium, Slow / 115 BPM]
A pulsating synth and eerie melodies create a haunting, suspenseful atmosphere soon joined by synth bass and an electric guitar ostinato. Electronic and Acoustic drums and percussion help build a crescendo and reinforce the feeling of purposeful, unstoppable resolution. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 100 BPM]
A dark, foreboding choir and plaintive harp suddenly explode into a torrent of sound that spirals through distortion before returning to the choir and harp once again for the final bars. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 110 BPM]
Cinematic dramatic action track with deep and dark vibe and growing tension. Good for jungle and forest scenes, ambush in the battle, war and special military operations, spy films and videos. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 120 BPM]
A dark, percussive piece. Low, swelling strings and steady drums lead into an intense pulsing action cue. A hero's theme of determination. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 97 BPM]
Orchestra and percussion accompany bassoon playing a very mysterious, almost seductive melody. Perhaps someone is making a deal with a shadowy character who has a dark and sinister plan. [Tempo: Slow / 67 BPM]
Dark sinister & brooding soundscape that will have you locking all your doors & windows! Synth fx, horror percussion fx and ominous choir drones combine to make haunting, tense music suitable for horror / hallowen / ghost / thriller type projects. Don't look behind you!... [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 74 BPM]
A reality TV type tension track featuring bells, synths, and percussion. Builds throughout for a sense of forward motion while maintaining intensity. Think of any reality TV series where elimination rounds are involved. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 84 BPM]
A Percussion Only track, with marching snares, military march. Occasional big drum strikes. Pensive, Dark, Threatening, Tension. [Tempo: Slow / 117 BPM]
Rhythmic synths open this tension building track, featuring pulsating bass and string motifs and drum grooves. A great action or thriller track with a mysterious mood. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 91 BPM]
A dark suspense piece with a haunting quality. Tension builds amidst huge drums and orchestra with an abnormal sense of determination. [Tempo: Medium / 143 BPM]
A mandolin and strings powered look into a dark and dirty world. The space created by the atmospheric music is reminiscent of films like Babel and Syriana. Tortured flute amplifies the tension; whatever is about to happen can't be good! [Tempo: Slow / 135 BPM]
Short evolving epic track with tension building. A climate of danger, mystery, anxiety leading to the climax ending part. [Tempo: Slow / 66 BPM]
Music for a showdown at high noon. Begins tense and sparse, building in energy through several stages as the gunfighters size each other up, it finally ends with a climax as a gun fires and one of the men falls. [Tempo: Slow / 87 BPM]
This piece of electronic music is suitable for any scene of rushing or urgency within a hospital or medical facility. It could also be used for a chase scene within a hospital. Included in this track is the beeping and ticking sound of a typical heart and blood pressure monitor at bedside - which completes the tension felt when listening. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
Aggressive, mysterious, cinematic track with Middle Eastern/Arabic feel. Huge drums, rock guitars, atmospheric electronics and vocal chants. No guitars and vocals version available. There is also Underscore edit that omits the drums, bass, guitars and chants, leaving only background instruments. [Tempo: Medium / 160 BPM]
Inspired by classic role playing video games, the noble orchestra of this piece creates a heroic mood as its sets the stage for dark challenges in a dangerous dungeon. [Tempo: Slow / 65 BPM]
An orchestral piece, a rather dark one. This composition builds up a tension and an uncomfortable feeling. It's thrilling and suspicious, this song makes a good suspense conductor without specially having any particular ending at the end, this could end well, or bad. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 89 BPM]
A dark and ominous fantasy / adventure soundtrack, dominated by dark and moody pad textures and a muted trumpet. This track starts out sneaky and foreboding, and grows over time, gradually building up the intensity towards a climax at the end. A combination of orchestral and modern sounds, the track is gloomy, eerie and majestic. [Tempo: Slow / 97 BPM]
Ambient, dark, slightly tense with low piano notes, light percussion, synth choir and fx. Good for eliminations on reality shows, tv and film dramas, crime, horrors, mysteries, thrillers and documentaries. [Tempo: Slow / 64 BPM]
This piece is suitable for killer clowns, zombies, possessed dolls, etc. An eerie piece with a deep terrorizing bass line; highlights the squeaky nature of the Oboe and the sentimental vibrato of the trumpet to create an ironic atmosphere of horror with a slight comedic feel. [Tempo: Slow / 70 BPM]
Medium slow, intensely powerfully epic, spacey, grinder rock track. Has a dark & menacing atmosphere built by heavy guitars mixing with massive drum grooves & spacious synth textures. Would suit extreme sports / horror / action / thriller projects. Potent stuff. [Tempo: Slow / 106 BPM]
Dark, gloomy, sinister underscore for film, TV, games, thriller, chiller, horror, etc. Darkly sparkling. Suspenseful, few notes, somewhat experimental, ambient soundscapes. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 110 BPM]
A dramatic, driven piece. It starts with low strings and a driving drum beat. It grows into a powerful, epic conclusion, full of brassy horns and epic percussion. Perfect for a battle scene or an epic chase. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 120 BPM]
A pensive, ominous and dark - but restrained, cinematic / orchestral piece. Hints of trouble on the horizon. Suitable for drama, crime, period drama, film/tv. [Tempo: Medium / 158 BPM]
An intense orchestral piece. Dark and ominous choral sounds combine with heavy brass, strings, and percussion to create a dark and nerve wracking overall vibe. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 82 BPM]
Military style battle music for underscore, TV or video game. Features low brass, percussion and strings. [Tempo: Medium / 104 BPM]
A tense and dark trailer-style track led by orchestra and synths while featuring electronic drums and driven guitars at points. Epic and powerful, with a clock-like pulse. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 120 BPM]
A cinematic, pensive track that starts with a fragile piano motif, and then grows, increases, builds… into a crescendo. Available with our without big drums. Suspenseful. Good for dramatic scenes, imminent danger, approaching situation. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 100 BPM]
Percussion only track / Battle drums. Tracks with Drums only are useful for action sequences, fight scenes, war and battles, macho sports and exertion, powerful imagery, dramatic trailers and more. Also available as seamlessly looping Drum loops / Percussion loops. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 90 BPM]
Pulsating sound design track with subtle but nervous percussion. Expectant, foreboding and slightly menacing. Good for use in thriller, action / adventure, sci-fi and sci-tek, future warfare, technology or suspense / action. Tense. Starts to build in intensity from 2:00 onwards and reaches a climax / crescendo at 02:55. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 115 BPM]
Cool and ethereal electro rock track with a slightly sinister undertone. Spacey plucked santoors float over soft and spacey synth pads and noises as a slow, determined beat kicks in. Would suit dramatic or cinematic projects. [Tempo: Slow / 59 BPM]
A Percussion Only track, with marching snares, military march. Occasional big drum strikes. Useful for scenes of battle, chase, urgency, action. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 160 BPM]
Disturbing and dramatic piece uses all new sounds and textures. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 112 BPM]
A simple underscore featuring a string ostinato that builds tension and suspense under a scene. A worldly flute melody provides a colorful, mysterious "crimes and investigation" type feeling. [Tempo: Medium / 110 BPM]
A broody, dark, cinematic track with a slight military / operation feel. Barely audible lo-fi telecommunications over dark beds of mangled and distorted synth pads and guitars. Undercover operation, military or space / sci-fi material. Sneaky, suspicious and ominous. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 75 BPM]
A powerful mix of syncopated synths, dramatic, fast accented strings and breakdown beats. Ideal for reality TV cues when firing contestants as well as other dramatic cues such as Celebrity Apprentice, Survivor and Hell's Kitchen. Mob hits and urban chase scenes with bad guys on the move. [Tempo: Medium / 130 BPM]
Driving string ostinatos begin this tension filled track, featuring cool synth lines, ambient pads, piano, and grooving drum beats. Good for an adventurous reality game show or an action packed thriller. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 86 BPM]
A creepy piece that starts off with a slow piano, builds as low strings makes it's way. Perfect for a scene where somebody is walking alone in the woods, hunted by a killer, or having a mental breakdown. Could also imagine a lone man, driving through a desolate city. [Tempo: Slow / 60 BPM]
Nervous soundtrack underscore for a classic western style duel. A mysterious lone ranger rides into town, will there be another shootout at the OK Corral? Interspersed with occasional mexican flavors. [Tempo: Slow / 70 BPM]
Deep world percussion and fast strings, brass and huge drum accents. Good for heavy tension and struggle, dramatic reality TV cues such as Survivor, The Apprentice, Hell's Kitchen, Design Star and The Bachelor. [Tempo: Slow / 86 BPM]
Suspicious / Foreboding cinematic soundtrack. Perhaps a crime in progress, or dangerous situation. Tense, with Tom-Tom drums adding to the nerve. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 104 BPM]
Ominous and powerful theme music featuring distant trumpet, orchestral trumpet and strings creating an enticing atmosphere. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 104 BPM]
Dark and cinematic cue with a reflective beginning and builds to a tense and emotional climax. Starting with simple piano before strings and horns slowly creep in. Great for movies and documentaries. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
These dark horror cues can be classed either as "music cues" or "sound effects", as in reality they function as both. They are all recorded with a large, live symphony orchestra with the same quality as any soundtrack from big budget movies. The effects are easy to loop and edit, and can be tailored to fit any cue, as they can be used from virtually any point. Consider them a construction kit to score horror, mystery and dark drama. Recorded, mastered, and delivered to you in pristine 24-bit audio. Also look for YS Horror Cues 21-40 and YS Horror Cues 41-60. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow, Medium / 0 BPM]
A haunting and eerie yet strangely beautiful track that starts out with a processed glockenspiel leading to electronic drums, bass, pads, tubular bells and various fx before ending with a soaring, passionate guitar solo. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 50 BPM]
Pensive, percussive track with World / Ethnic undertones. Good for adventure, peril, expeditions and mystery. Travel show, documentary / history / geography / mythology etc. World heritage, with an element of danger and nerve. [Tempo: Medium / 110 BPM]
Cinematic Action music track great for crime and investigation programs, news, documentaries, also for films, TV series and action trailers evolving around Police, FBI and CIA. Featuring orchestral strings and woodwinds, synthesizers, keyboards and contemporary drum beat. [Tempo: Slow / 114 BPM]
Dark and haunting Piano plays over some eerie and ambient sound effects. Creates the mood for tense and scary scenes in movies and halloween projects. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 58 BPM]
