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]
Hybrid industrial trailer music track with pounding drums and sound design elements. Tense, urgent, violent music. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 146 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]
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]
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]
Emotional, cinematic action track with a mystical feel in the beginning but escalating to a more dramatic orchestral ending, great for trailers, films, games and TV. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 80 BPM]
A twisted, dark and discordant waltz opens this dynamic epic track of courage and determination that also shows a sad and tragic emotional side. Voices create a medieval undertone. The track finishes with dark orchestral stabs and hangs on a barely resolved violin phrase. Good for dark battle, epic defeat. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 0 BPM]
Many moods captured in an epic underscore. Begins with dark march and action-oriented outbursts, with interludes of tragic reflection and heroic themes. Second half is a furious action / march, always with a menacing and dark undertone. Good for medieval battle, attack of the evil empire, blood-soaked battleground. This track was recorded with a real live philharmonic orchestra. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow, Medium / 0 BPM]
An ominous, dramatic and tension building music track featuring hybrid orchestra, combined with classical orchetra and deep synths. Growing into big, epic trailer music. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 80 BPM]
A dark yet magical piece. Epic, with a focus primarily on full choir. Requiem feel. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 70 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: Slow, Medium / 90 BPM]
A futuristic electronica based mystical film score / soundtrack with an edgy, unique sound, combining synthesizers and epic orchestra. Unsettling, mysterious, and dramatic, with a larger than life sound. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 113 BPM]
A slow, pulsating, rather ominous and pensive rhythm sets the scene for a track that develops into an expansive, open aural vista. It has a sense of something important happening, something amazing approaching. It keeps growing into a glorious crescendo until finally all is revealed at the climax. A great track for when you want to build expectation and excitement towards the revealing moment. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
Someone is being followed as they drive towards their destiny, a final showdown. Orchestra with interesting guitar, synth and percussion layers. Perfect for a modern suspenseful film. The music gets big and epic, yet at times is also smaller in scope, intricate and suspenseful. [Tempo: Medium / 98 BPM]
Calm intro section into Powerful and edgy, massive electro track. Power / Sci-fi / Future. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 135 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]
A suspenseful action trailer music track featuring deep and growling synths combined with pulsation motion and orchestra. Hurried feel with 7/8 time signature. Suitable music for epic content, trailers and blockbuster videos. [Tempo: Fast / 0 BPM]
This track combines pulsating synthesizers with full orchestra and a solo soprano voice. Solemn and emotional, this track has a sense of impending drama, or setting off on a dangerous journey, not knowing what to expect. Both fragile and determined, with a sense of sorrow. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 68 BPM]
Dark, cinematic and light suspenseful music track made with chamber orchestra. No divided parts. Dark / Spooky / Eerie / Quirky music. [Tempo: Medium / 145 BPM]
A weird and different piece. Very eerie, spooky, strange and hard to classify. Led by a single soprano voice, the track soon rises up to a monolithic, scary, larger-than-life mystery. Magic, witchcraft, halloween, fantasy, evil lair, strange lands, mystical places... [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 55 BPM]
Battle drums. Pounding percussion. A combination of orchestral percussion and ethnic / tribal drums. Suitable for battle, fight, chase, brawls and action scenes. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 98 BPM]
An eerie or slightly dark suspenseful track made with chamber orchestra. Simple structure, evolving. Suspense / Cinematic / Classical. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
Menacing, ominous underscore track for dark, futuristic scene or opening sequence in sci-fi or horror film/game. Mix of electronic and orchestral elements, occasional fragments of unintelligible radio messages with static. [Tempo: Medium / 75 BPM]
Modern, propulsive, restless bass. A sense of suspension, unease, and threat. Tension evolving towards trailer music. Tension / Trailer / Modern Music. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Medium / 100 BPM]
Edgy, pulsing, rhythmic and pounding electronic trailer music track. In the second part - urgent and energetic, percussive dramatic action. Danger / War / Assault. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 120 BPM]
Tense and cinematic, featuring eerie piano over a menacing synth pads, strings and military snare creates a mood of intense fear and suspense. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 130 BPM]
A dramatic and orchestral track with big drums and a sense of forward movement, increasing towards a final crescendo. Foreboding, staccato. Marching and relentless, like an unstoppable force. Also available without the drums, and as a version with the drums by themselves. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 80 BPM]
A fast, chase-like sequence driven by African percussion. Exciting and dynamic in character. World / Tribal / Ethnic Music. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 0 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]
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: Medium / 100 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]
Terrifying, thriller, Chase, chilly, nervous tension, sinister, threatening, creepy. Horns, strings, cello, drone, flute, pads, synths. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 0 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]
A rather intense mix of orchestral and electronic music. It's progressive construction makes it a pretty good fit to any story based energetic montage. [Tempo: Medium / 88 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]
Creepy orchestration suggests an approaching evil menace or a supernatural event. Steeped in suspense, this dark, sinister piece builds towards a horrific & sudden conclusion. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 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]
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]
A lonely music box melody builds to a full orchestra before ending as it begins. Dark, tense and climactic but not too scary, family oriented horror. Good for trailers, video games, cartoons, halloween, quirky Tim Burton type films and even commercials. [Tempo: Slow / 70 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]
The Third Reich is to Hitler what the Imperial March was for Darth Vader. It begins with a simple staccato violin pattern and flute melody until the call of horns introduces the ground-shattering beat, synonymous to the force of military tanks. When you thought things were rough, an epic finale kicks in. [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]