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.
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]
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]
Dramatic and mysterious piano, accompanied by harp and strings. Inspired by soap opera music cliches. [Tempo: Medium / 0 BPM]
A swarm of rogue Robots is loose in the city: will our hero save the day? Orchestral, electronic and rock elements build a SciFi atmosphere with dynamic and tension shifts. Good for opening credits or action sequence score. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 123 BPM]
Dark and sombre background music based on strings and piano. Very cinematic piece suitable for any dark, ominous drama or fiction. [Tempo: Slow / 0 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]
A sneaky and creepy semi-orchestral soundtrack piece. Twitchy and nervous strings, scattered piano notes, metal clanks, subtle pulsating rhythms. Suitable for horror/scifi as well as for documentary, forensics, murder investigation etc. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 96 BPM]
Sneaky and darkly pensive underscore for drama or dark mystery. Perhaps crime scene investigation, criminal activity, lurking danger. Suitable for documentary, film score, TV drama or nervous tense moments of reality show etc. Sneaking pads, dark bass undertow, unnerving and twitchy strings. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 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]
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 dark, stressed battle or conflict track. Pulsating, big ethnic percussion, darkly twisted orchestral textures, vocal chants. Danger, tense situation. Rock guitar enters the mix at about 02:40. [Tempo: Medium / 87 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]
Spacey, dramatic, hypnotic, cinematic track with building tension and a slight exotic flavour due to use of percussion and eastern scales and instruments. Contains synths, strings, percussion, santoor and acoustic guitar [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 122 BPM]
Spacey, slow and slightly dark electronic piece. Trancey synth-piano lines are overlaid with more jagged synth and drum noises to produce an ethereal and yet quite emotive soundscape. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 60 BPM]
Dark, sinister & menacing electro-rock track. Twisted, pulsing synths combine with slow dramatic strings and jagged beats, slowly building to an intense and heavy guitar-fueled climax. Would suit horror / thriller / action / suspense / halloween projects. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 112 BPM]
Dramatic, hypnotic & edgy electro-rock track with great nervous tension and forward momentum. Would suit medical / spy / mystery / thriller type drama projects. [Tempo: Medium / 97 BPM]
Slightly dark, eerie & sinister electronic rock track with great atmosphere, forward drive & spacey textures. A mixture of synths, drum machines, acoustic drums, strings and guitar. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 119 BPM]
Unique blend of regal strings and horns and hefty guitars. The verse is a slow grooving electro beat which builds slowly via a b section of clean swirling guitar and lamenting vocal loops into an explosion of guitars and drums. Very filmically dramatic, intense and quite unexpected. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 75 BPM]
Eerie, brooding and chilling electro-rock track that slowly creeps up behind you then explodes into electrified malevolence. Would suit scary chiller, thriller or sci-fi projects. [Tempo: Slow / 60 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]
Ever felt that you were being watched by someone? Your every move being monitored from afar. A sinister, fevered, twisted and unnerving piece. Contains violins, cellos, xylophones, string plucks and some quite twisted melodies that slowly unfold, creating lots of tension. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 75 BPM]
Soothing, tranquil and yet slightly mysterious and uneasy orchestral piece. Unusual blend of piano, strings and ambient synth sounds to make this track a little journey through different moods. Contains piano, strings, synths and drums. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 70 BPM]
Dark, grand, glorious, glorifying soundtrack piece. Rising up, epic, dominant, malevolent. Low choir voices. Pounding rhythm. Staccato brass stabs. Powerful, determined. [Tempo: Medium / 100 BPM]
Dark, grand, glorious, glorifying soundtrack piece. Rising up, epic, dominant, malevolent. Low choir voices. Pounding rhythm. Staccato brass stabs. Powerful, determined. Perhaps a dark temple, evil wizard, sorcerer or religious cult, sect, religion, ritual. [Tempo: Medium / 70 BPM]
Epic, powerful and grand orchestral rock track with many sonic colours that starts quietly and beautifully but gradually builds into a monster as guitars crash in like a tidal wave. Would suit high drama/cinematic projects. [Tempo: Medium / 100 BPM]
Suspense soaked riff rocker which uses simple berimbau lines, clean atmospheric guitars and great big dirty guitars. Great repeated build and release. The last time has a soaring lead guitar solo. In parts, slightly reminiscent of Failure and even Nirvana. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 92 BPM]
Imagine walking through the ruins of a haunted castle at night, never knowing what night be round the next cobweb covered corner. A very black and sinister piece. Slow with a building tension. Contains synths, drum kit, guitars and bass. [Tempo: Slow / 68 BPM]
Slow spacey rocker. starts slow and sleazy and gains in intensity And emotion as it progresses. Lots of cool guitar licks and lush sounds. Think Jeff Beck meets satriani at Steve Lukather's barbecue. Contains guitars, bass , drums and keyboards. [Tempo: Slow / 117 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]
A huge great bouncy meatball of a tune. Pulsing synth bass and syncopated drum groove make this one swing large. Various parts come and go but the beat must and will go on. Contains synths, drums, choirs and eastern oboes. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 133 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]
Spacey, tripped out, dazed and yet with innate momentum and drive. Soundtrack to a midnight sleepwalk in a big city. Contains piano, synths , bass and drums. [Tempo: Medium / 112 BPM]
A lumbering and hypnotically simple riff-laden tune. The slow, doomy beat slowly creeps towards you with evil intent as strings, Leslie guitars and synths colour the track. Contains guitars, bass, drums and strings. [Tempo: Slow / 80 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]
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 underscore track for use in film, games, and media. Varying intensities of fantasy / adventure background music, good for in-game, in-film, drama, cultural, historical and discovery. Has a sense of dark mystery, exotic mysticism, perhaps ancient dark secrets or undiscovered lands. [Tempo: Slow / 0 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]
A brooding sense of danger that builds to a climax. Heavy brass are aided by stabbing strings and thumping percussion which is great to use as trek music with big landscape shots, in which the bad guys are after the good guys. [Tempo: Medium / 89 BPM]
Impending doom that builds with cinematic awe to a climactic chasm at 01:09. Suspenseful, tense, foreboding, nervous. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 130 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]
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]
This aggressive cinematic piece starts with a chaotic string crescendo, and abruptly changes to a dramatic and forceful orchestral texture. Great for action trailers and sequences. [Tempo: Fast / 143 BPM]
A mysterious cinematic thrill ride with tense edgy percussion, strings, harp, brass, pizzicato. Good for reality television, trailers, action, adventure, advertisements, and any production needing relentless heart pounding excitement. [Tempo: Fast / 121 BPM]
Dark and ominous event, eerie sounds, threatening and edgy, sustains with aggressive internal percussive events. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 100 BPM]
Pulsing energetic percussive beat, dark and solemn , threatening, tense, and powerful, perfect for a war action scene. [Tempo: Medium / 83 BPM]
Staccato and nervous, orchestral tension underscore. Undercover, dangerous mission. Few French horns notes mixed with symphonic elements and a pulsating rhytmic backdrop. Movement, getting into position, primed and ready for action. Great for spy, mystery, thriller, crime, secret mission, military. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 97 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]
This ambient music track features scattered sounds, signals and rhythms textures. Highly distinctive, unique and somewhat futuristic, perfect for horror, sci-fi or thriller. [Tempo: Slow / 96 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]