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.
A tough, uncompromising and dynamic soundtrack with a driving, futuristic feel that would suit epic visuals, contemporary gaming, modern war themes, movie trailers & films. Stark instrumentation leaves room for narrative, epic sound design or added SFX. [Tempo: Slow / 0 BPM]
Brooding and ominous, this dark tension & horror track grows from a quiet drone and builds to an intense atonal conclusion. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast, Very fast / 0 BPM]
A tense, dark battle between 2 opposing sides, fighting till the end. Strong use of strings with a mixture of synthesis to give the track a technical edge. Dynamic conclusion of epic instrumentation and frantic drums to bring the track to the end. [Tempo: Slow / 120 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]
A melody of spacious strings & soprano voice quickly descend into darkness & mystery. Fantasy, sci-fi, adventure. Perhaps magic or mysterious intrigues. Amazement, wonderment. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
An orchestral piece written for action and adventure sequences. It is full of drama, suspense, powerful drum hits, stabs, and melodic lines.
[Tempo: Medium, Fast / 130 BPM]A short track that tells of darkness and sadness. [Tempo: Medium / 90 BPM]
Energetic percussion opens the track, soon replaced with an epic, heroic melody performed by orchestra and choir. Music grows in intensity. Final section soars with high stings and climaxes with a patriotic, militaristic heroic melody. [Tempo: Medium / 140 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: Very slow, Slow / 75 BPM]
Classic dramatic Western style theme. Long shadows over Rio Grande. A hanging at dawn. A lone horseman riding into the sunset. A Mexican woman in distress. Shootout at the O.K. Corral. You get the idea. :) Very cinematic - Great stuff for Westerns, similar to soundtracks by Ennio Morricone. [Tempo: Medium / 75 BPM]
A lively, ominous and busy music track with a dark atmosphere, made only with orchestral instruments. The structure is divided into several parts, all connected and in the same mood. Bustling / Tension / Drama Music. [Tempo: Medium / 60 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]
Suspenseful, tense, cinematic muisc track. Uneasy nerve, danger on the horizon. Ominous / Foreboding. This track features a full stop and re-start at around 1 minute which can be useful in editing the music to your content, for dramatic effect. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 55 BPM]
This dark soundscape builds and builds. [Tempo: Slow / 84 BPM]
Dramatic and mysterious piano, accompanied by harp and strings. Inspired by soap opera music cliches. [Tempo: Medium / 0 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: Slow, Medium / 150 BPM]
Stalkers, serial killers, crime scenes, murder, twisted plots and Investigation Discovery shows. The chaotic and evil sounding prepared piano and sound design creates evil thoughts of Halloween, ghosts, cults and the supernatural. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 120 BPM]
A brooding bassline fuses with a simmering wash of atmospheric sounds. [Tempo: Medium / 180 BPM]
This track is Jekyll and Hyde. The tense intro has techno beats and synth sequences which build in intensity until all hell breaks loose and the guitars enter with a hellishly ferocious and relentless riff. Contains synths, drum machines, guitars and bass. [Tempo: Medium / 127 BPM]
An evil, Far East / Oriental style 'bad guy' theme that moves slowly, but threateningly to create a sense of anxiety. The Erhu is backed by a deep chanting male choir, drums and tense strings. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
Epic and massive music track featuring big cinematic orchestra and powerful energetic drums. The structure is made of one piece (loopable, no divided parts). Epic / Battle / Determined Music. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
An ominous sci-fi piece. Hybrid cinematic music, blending powerful analog synths with huge orchestral elements. Dark, majestic, brooding, suspenseful. Vangelis and Hans Zimmer influenced. [Tempo: Slow / 120 BPM]
Action or Sports underscore. Epic and heroic, with a dark edge. Pound for Pound Best in the world. Track builds in waves to the finish. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
Tense / Bustling / Active / Urgent / Mystical / Pulsating Music. Small orchestra soundtrack piece, featuring live performed orchestral instruments, suitable as music for film and other media. [Tempo: Fast / 160 BPM]
An edgy and tense action track. Pounding percussion and staccato strings provide the forward-driving energy, and occasional blaring horns and an ethnic lute join in from time to time to provide additional drama and a bit of ethnic mystery to the intense action music. Suitable for tension, action, urgent operations, etc. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Fast / 125 BPM]
Screeching basses and cellos build up to a musical stab, aided by french horn rip, cymbal crashes and violin clusters. If you want the audience to jump, this is the ideal track. [Tempo: Slow / 0 BPM]
A rhythmic, dark, orchestral track of amazement and tension. Similar to the style/sound of Hans Zimmer music, this cinematic piece has a strong sense of nerve and drama.
[Tempo: Medium / 100 BPM]Modern suspenseful music played by orchestra, synths, and ethnic instruments. Sounds like the opening credits for a spy movie based in the middle east. Driving, pulsating rhythms keep the energy up, while atmospheric sections create a moody, dramatic feel. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 99 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]
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 pensive, pulsating and tense track for action & adventure. Orchestral with synth elements, a dark edge, but also somewhat restrained and brooding. [Tempo: Medium / 93 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]
A brooding, ominous and dark soundtrack for mystery, thriller or drama. Foreboding / Tense / Threatening. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 65 BPM]
Percussive rhythms and undulating synths create a fresh and exotic, dark vibe well suited to post-apocalyptic scenes as well as technology and sleek design advertising. [Tempo: Medium / 96 BPM]
Mixing orchestral and hip hop elements, this pensive, tense and nervous underscore is the good track for challenge, mystery, thriller, police, stakeout, international conspiracies, countdown, pressure situations. Also good for things like CSI, NCIS, forensics, investigation, looking for clues. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 116 BPM]
Pattern based 20th Century minimalist music. Surreal, Rhythmic, Underscore, Tension. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 132 BPM]
A powerful, ominous, epic royalty free music track featuring a pulsating clock, suspense ambience, and uprising force of the orchestra and large mixed choir. Suitable as music for epic and battle scenes. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 80 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]
A tension building track great for action and adventure scenes or reality game show programming. Features unique drum rhythms, a harmonic piano ostinato, synth motifs, and string riffs. [Tempo: Medium / 64 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]
Deep, ominous and distorted opening into hard-hitting orchestral and electronic impacts. Violent. Epic / Action / Trailer Music. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 120 BPM]
A dark, foreboding, gloomy, orchestral cinematic / soundtrack piece. A sense of slow forward movment or progress. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 120 BPM]
Aggressive track of evolving suspense and tension, odd and mysterious at times, dark and ominous at times. A punch in your face! [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 164 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]
A contemporary, cinematic music track with an intriguing and captivating vibe. Featuring piano, strings, glockenspiel, atmospheric pads and orchestral percussion. Great for dynamic action scenes in films, TV and documentaries. [Tempo: Medium / 125 BPM]
Eerie, tense, percussive soundscape with a relentless spooky melody, dark metalic FX and flute sweeps. Atmospheric with a sense of suspense and imminent danger. Menacing and sinister. 48 hours, The Mentalist, Castle, Alien Invasion, crime drama, horror, Sci-Fi. [Tempo: Slow / 9 BPM]
Horror Mystery Soundtrack. Intrusive / Malevolent / Dark Hits / Disturbing. [Tempo: Slow / 0 BPM]
A high-energy cinematic piece. Its sweeping, soaring and emotional. Featuring live orchestra, mezzo soprano and background choir. A lush orchestral adventure slowly rises to push your scenes towards an epic climax, providing a perfect backdrop for feature film, epic trailer, history documentary and more. This track has multiple variations: with choir, without choir, without percussion as well as just strings mix or percussion mix, allowing you to create your personal, customized soundtrack of any duration. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 80 BPM]
An intensely ominous electronic/orchestral soundscape supports a brooding, haunting theme; overwhelmed with darkness and fear, this track is destined for moody scenes of terror and horror in contemporary cinema... For underscore and build-up. Instrumental, Dangerous Music, Dark Music. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
A contemporary orchestral film score / cinematic track with a sense of danger and unease. Staccato rhythm. Turmoil / Agitation / Urgency. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 144 BPM]
