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.
Richly harmonized strings combine with dark brass undertones to create a cinematic vibe in this dramatic orchestral piece. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
Dark, moody, modern action track. Percussion based with electronic and rock elements. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 86 BPM]
Uniquely suspense-filled, filmic track with Eastern plucked strings mixing with flutes, tribal drums and orchestral strings. Very cinematic and intense. The tune grows in power as it goes with string motifs joining the tribal drum grooves. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 96 BPM]
A pensive, determined, cinematic score. Perhaps the pivotal point or turning point in a story - a decisive moment. A sense of urgency, determination and drama. Also good for commercials / advertising with a mysterious, dark edge, perhaps technology, power or determination. [Tempo: Fast / 142 BPM]
A somewhat dark and mystical, edgy, cinematic trailer type track. Fluttering and deliberately "broken", this track has the sense of something uneasy, unstable, simmering just beneath the surface. Think demon worship, the occult. The track changes from mystical / foreboding passages to more aggressive, staccato, percussive parts, with sudden stops and starts that can be used as edit points. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 84 BPM]
Energetic percussion/electronic track with impelling synth riffs, huge orchestral drums. Perfect for action films, extreme sports and trailers. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 120 BPM]
A mysterious suspense music track, with piano and strings and a more rhythmical second part. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 100 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]
Modern rock tune featuring a bass guitar riff and sparse synths with a serious attitude. Dark and mysterious. This track almost has an eerie feel with an infectious groove. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 86 BPM]
A throwback to classic role playing games, the orchestra evokes a dark dungeon with unknown dangers lurking around every corner. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 123 BPM]
Dark pulse. Evil / Malevolent. Sneaky / Suspicious. Horror / Gothic underscore. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 90 BPM]
A truly grand and epic track. Hybrid orchestral, with electronic percussion and electric guitar and a choir joining in later. A sense of high drama and epic journeys. Amazement / Heroic / Determined / Grand. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 125 BPM]
A desolate landscape, something mysterious and sinister whistles in the chilling wind. It makes it's way closer and closer; slowly but surely. A sense of inevitability, perfect for a subtle touch in tense scenes, horror, or right before an action scene. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 121 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]
Pattern based 20th Century minimalist music. Surreal, Rhythmic, Underscore, Tension. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 132 BPM]
A serene string introduction grows into a hybrid orchestra with asian instruments playing an energetic passage. A hypnotic electric guitar takes over and brings the music to a peaceful, uplifting ending. [Tempo: Medium / 124 BPM]
Epic, dramatic and aggressive trailer music track made with massive hybrid sound design, aggressive cinematic orchestra and hard hitting epic drums. Trailer structure, three big parts with many stopping points for easier editing. Dark / Aggressive / Dramatic Music. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 0 BPM]
Tense, horrific survival music, blending hard percussion with orchestral elements. Changes between pensive, nervous parts and more action filled parts for chase, action scenes. Nervous, slightly chaotic, disoriented. [Tempo: Medium / 95 BPM]
A soundtrack for mystery and intrigue. Uneasy stirrings. Suspicion, underlying tension. An elegant mystery theme in classic TV/film style. [Tempo: Medium / 92 BPM]
Pensive, ominous orchestral film soundtrack. Secret mission, danger, impending hostilities, undercover or covert mission, military build-up, international conflict, serious consequences. The second half of the track has a much busier mood and more percussive production, and can be used for a separate cue, or as part of the main track. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 118 BPM]
Adventurous orchestral percussion score takes you flying over vast landscapes. An orchestral underscore piece with a military styled theme. Serious, intense mood good for productions involving war, battles, plotting, planning, strategy, historical etc. [Tempo: Slow / 0 BPM]
Pensive and mysterious, rhythmic film/drama underscore. Science, technology, investigation, perhaps forensics or chemistry. Finding solutions, interpreting clues, maybe building up to something. [Tempo: Medium / 80 BPM]
Cello-led with cinematic orchestral with violin leads and string accompaniment. Versatile, thematic in nature, steady track with lots of movement and motion sonically. Raw, naked, film noir, chamber orchestra sound. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 90 BPM]
Dark, eerie, ethereal, spacious, creepy, moody, thoughtful, slightly menacing electronic track with a slow groove & a sense of foreboding. Hypnotic, cool, smooth & haunting. Would suit mystery / crime / documentary / Halloween / horror type projects. [Tempo: Slow / 79 BPM]
A pensive, rhythmic underscore for a dark thriller, drama, crime mystery or documentary. The percussion carries a slightly ethnic or tribal feel, while the wailing, screeching metallic pads give the track a sense of fear, anxious waiting or nervous movement. Great for film, television drama, crime scene investigation, reality show and much more. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 86 BPM]
Sinister, disturbing track full of malevolence and high tension. Trancey bass and drums begin to creep towards you with evil intent... [Tempo: Fast / 124 BPM]
This track has a haunted overtone and pays a subtle homage to the music 'Dexter' in the theme. This cue would work well for film or television, opening credits, paranormal footage and spooky movie trailers. It features detuned piano and haunting choirs that makes a nice ghostly tension builder. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 70 BPM]
Dark ambient, Horror underscore. Mysterious / Creepy / Echoey / Haunting [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 80 BPM]
An intense epic action cue that starts mysterious and builds to full out action with driving percussion rhythms, orchestral energy, and big drums, underscoring anything from a fast car chase to a battle between man and machine. Very much in the vein of John Powell's "Bourne" movies and the scores of Hanz Zimmer and Steve Jablonsky ("Batman Begins" and "Transformers"). [Tempo: Fast / 138 BPM]
A dramatic tension track that opens with rhythmic and melodic synth lines and builds with light percussion, piano, strings, and brass motifs. Perfect for action and adventure scenes or reality game show programming. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 128 BPM]
A short track that tells of darkness and sadness. [Tempo: Medium / 90 BPM]
Tense beginning with a sense of preparations close to a big event, like a sports game, battle or major test. Orchestra and drums start out with a punchy, energetic melody. About halfway through the rhythmic energy dissipates and a heroic melody soars. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 85 BPM]
A Percussion Only track, with big pounding drums in various more and less intense patterns. Useful for sound design, film scoring, games and more. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 105 BPM]
Inspired by film maker and composer John Carpenter, this is a homage to his masterpiece The Thing, starring Kurt Russell. Ominous blend of synthesizers and orchestral horns, with a repetitive tense motif. [Tempo: Slow / 93 BPM]
This cue is a dark tension builder that is designed to set a suspenseful mood. It is reminiscent of eerie soundtracks such as Saw, Dexter, Silent Hill etc. It has paranormal overtones and peaks with a massive, intensely cinematic stinger. It would be well suited to horror, psychological thrillers and scenes requiring an unsettling suspense. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
This is a film soundtrack with an epic vibe. Orchestral arrangement with a lot of tension and energy. Ideal for war, battle and fight themed films with a brooding feel. Emotional and Heroic feelings that bring a lot of inspiration to the listener. [Tempo: Medium / 84 BPM]
Big, powerful and epic music track made with big orchestra, epic choir and drums. Two parts, ending with big hit, suitable for trailers. Dramatic / Epic / Orchestral Music. [Tempo: Medium / 150 BPM]
Electronic underscore with large percussion, warm synth tones, buzzy synth appregios and complex Moog undertones. Sports, Crime, Automotive. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
A suspense filled orchestral piece. Its theme varies in transitioned formats from a tens and dramatic feel to a more dynamic one. Its progressive rhythm and heavy percussion on the second part makes it a really good action music, and its melancholic and melodious string section brings back the emotion on its opening part, offering a good transition from one to the other. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 130 BPM]
A dark, tense and dramatic, textured film score piece. Very slight eastern European feel, but certainly not limited to that region. [Tempo: Slow / 0 BPM]
An eerie piece with dark soundscapes and textures. Intense drums and orchestra are utilized in unconventional ways. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 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]
Ominous thriller underscore. Piano theme joined by slowly rising strings and a low level rhythmic pulse. Subtle but serious -- suitable for political drama or thriller, law, action, crime or mystery. A sense of tragedy or serious consequences. [Tempo: Medium / 94 BPM]
String quintet developing a dramatic theme, suited for dramatic series involving psycological or criminal content. Timeless, with a classic / classical influence music. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 160 BPM]
Slow washes of nervous strings with mysterious harp. Pensive, sinister, apprehensive. Sneaking, waiting. Dramatic underscore that provides nerve and tension to film, crime, investigation, stakeout, horror or dark mystery. Solo violin enters later. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
Electronica, experimental, underscore. Haunting, Techno, Science / electronics. [Tempo: Fast / 144 BPM]
A slow, brooding warning of trouble ahead. Has a dark mysterious but ominous and unsettled feeling to it. Simple piano lines combine with evolving strings and cool drum loops to make you grimace at what might unfold. [Tempo: Slow / 71 BPM]
A big epic and dynamic edgy action music for movie trailers, or dramatic action films. Hard hitting orchestral lines fuse with modern digital technology in a great piece of Hybrid powerful action music! [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 148 BPM]
Nervous action / thriller underscore. Stakeout, movement, urgency, ticking bomb. This track has a strong and tense nerve, as if everything is going to blow at any second. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 131 BPM]
A dark, edgy and suspenseful music track featuring epic percussion ensemble, strings and brass. Suitable for tension building and dramatic events. Brooding / Ominous music / Urgent / Threat. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 90 BPM]
