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.
Staccato strings and synth pulse arpeggio. Military or science fiction cinematic sountrack style. Spluttering synthesizers, orchestral horn stabs, timpani, congas and snares. First half sneaky and building, dissonant, arm-up. Second half all-out battle, chase, action. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 100 BPM]
A percussion driven track, good for a military march scene. Note: This track starts *very* quietly and grows in a very slow crescendo. You will hardly hear anything until it starts to build up enough volume around 00:30 onwards. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 98 BPM]
A dark, suspenseful and creepy trailer track made with screaming strings, eerie vocals and scary effects. Trailer structure, made with many stopping points for easier editing. Hybrid / Dark / Eerie / Trailer. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
A rather dark and ominous amazement / drama track. Chanting choir, stabbing brass and percussion, a sinister undertone tells of perhaps religious rituals, cult, majestic uprising, dark magic or sacrifice, determined evil powers gathering. Dark history, mystery, mythology. Foreboding, threatening. [Tempo: Medium / 83 BPM]
A dark and pulsating blockbuster track, combining synth sounds with orchestral music. Suitable for movie scenes, thrillers, blockbusters, intense scenes and epic material. Cinematic / Heroic music / Amazement. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 125 BPM]
Powerful trailer music full of momentum and drive. Great for any promotions of video games, film or television needing that modern Hollywood sound. [Tempo: Medium / 111 BPM]
Gearing up for a battle, the two sides size each other up. The leader of the good guys delivers a short yet inspiring message to his team... we may be down but not out, go out there and conquer! Orchestra and urban beats. Good for sports and any scene building up to action. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 88 BPM]
Full of atmospheric soundscapes, this cinematic music track is rich with retro synths, and creative sound design drones. Futuristic / Dark / Eerie / Emotional music. [Tempo: Slow / 80 BPM]
Intriguing and impactful underscore for news items and other documentary features. This track has a sense of urgency with mild suspense. Documentary / Crime reporting / Cyber / Hacking / Police stakeout, etc. [Tempo: Medium / 80 BPM]
A dark, dramatic and suspenseful music track made with massive sound design, epic orchestra and more. Intense and aggressive in vibe. The whole structure is gradation towards climax. Rising / Dark / Doom laden music. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 120 BPM]
Horns and percussion build tension, joined by an urban beat and strings. Could be perfect for any kind of preparation for a sports game, college exam, or just to illustrate someone's determination and will to succeed. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 125 BPM]
Apprehensive and dramatic sound design intro growing in power and confidence with orchestra and percussion. Strong / Epic / Powerful. Very dark music track. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 125 BPM]
Ominous synths with pounding drums set the scene, while solo violin creates a lyrical and emotional mood. Huge brass section enters at 0:55 to create a massive sounding theme along with violins and booming crunchy drums. Epic in every sense - good for a movie trailer. [Tempo: Slow / 125 BPM]
Wide drums, reverberated and distant strings give this track an open and mysterious feel. An underlining bass pulse brings a constant feel of tension. The track builds up to a big drum drop with effects that resemble a monster growl. Big hits layered with low bass following a wide and atmospheric opening theme create a strong impact. This track is good for movie and game trailers, scenes of investigation and spy scenes. [Tempo: Slow / 70 BPM]
A dark and suspenseful hybrid music featuring a combination of growling distorted bass, orchestra and synth sounds. Tension building / Danger / Ominous / Determined. Sense of urgency and foreboding. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 0 BPM]
A cinematic orchestral piece that evokes fear, sadness, anxiety, and magic. This track could work in scenes involving threat, supernatural forces or otherworldly and awe-inspiring locations. The middle section is quite dramatic. [Tempo: Medium / 92 BPM]
Floating and building music track, featuring pulsing electronic elements, dark atmospheric textures and dramatic percussion that creates tension. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 128 BPM]
Tense combination of sound designer sounds with ambient synth textures and a hard hitting techno backdrop. action, drama, dramatic, chase, crime, police, battle, war, futuristic action and suspense. [Tempo: Fast, Very fast / 100 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 dark, gloomy, emotional and sorrowful underscore for sci-fi, thriller, mystery, or action drama. Conflict, unease, with an ethnic / world mystery undertow. Available with or without drums, and with or without a wailing, sorrowful, ethnic solo vocal. Desolate / Tense / Uncertain. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 90 BPM]
A futuristic, blockbuster style music track featuring pulsating basses, big, epic orchestra and large mixed choir, giving a powerful touch to its climax part. Interesting time signature in 7/8ths throughout. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 100 BPM]
A dark and grungy orchestral hybrid track. Unsettling distorted synth and drums keep a relentless and dark theme. The track slows down to a slight quiet break in the middle, followed by a loud and heavy drop that plays out to the end. This track is suitable for video game or movie trailers, scenes of struggle or battle. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 70 BPM]
A dark and intense orchestral action track. Edgy and staccato, with a dark mystery and urgent, tension and dramatic fight, battle mood. A great track for a fantasy fight, action adventure, stressed situation, escape or survival themes. Somewhat tribal / primal sound. This track is available with or without the Koto instrument which, if included, gives the track a Japanese / Oriental twist. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Fast / 87 BPM]
Brooding atmospherics as a distant vocal drifts across a deep menacing soundscape. At 1:38 soaring chords take the forefront offering hope & dignity. The track resolves with a feeling of pride and optimism. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
"Constructing the Machine". A pulsing and building orchestral thriller montage cue underscoring anything from working mathematical formulas to constructing a time machine. Rhythmic percussion, brass, strings, ambient fx, electronic instruments. [Tempo: Medium / 128 BPM]
Slowly evolving, gradually growing in tension hybrid industrial trailer production music track. Big hits and stabs leading to a dramatic orchestral crescendo. Hypnotic arpeggios, sound design elements. Danger / Tension / Battle. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 170 BPM]
Battle drums / marching percussion. A combination of orchestral percussion and ethnic / tribal drums. Suitable for battle, fight, chase, conflict, etc. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 60 BPM]
Film / TV Series / Game underscore track. Both ambient and rhythmic, the track has a strong sense of a stealth mission. Sneaking, hiding, sniping, etc. In addition to the main mix, there is also an 'alternative mix' that cuts out some of the instruments, leaving a more sparse sound, perhaps even better for background use. Of the 8 loops available, the first 5 are taken from the main mix and the last 3 from the alternative mix. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 108 BPM]
A dark and ominous track featuring choir and piano. Mysterious, chanting, perhaps occult séance or dark magic. [Tempo: Slow / 52 BPM]
Dark and ominous, foreboding and hard pounding, cinematic track. Orchestra, choir and big drums. Dramatic / Epic / Edgy / Powerful / Dark. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 98 BPM]
For Thriller, Suspense, Horror, Police, Criminal investigation. Ominous repetitive piano and harp motif builds up into a full orchestral climax. Good for opening credits and crime and investigation series. [Tempo: Medium / 90 BPM]
Dark, aggressive and very rhythmic composition with menacing, machine-like drumsounds and effects. Edgy, mysterious and suspense-packed. Suitable as a movie score for science fiction, technology and action. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 110 BPM]
Hip Hop styled theme to the urban underworld. Groovey beats combine with plucked strings, synth pads and leads to make a hypnotic and unnervingly atmospheric soundscape. Don't look behind you. [Tempo: Slow / 90 BPM]
Breathing, low, complex texture joined by full orchestral percussion. War influenced music, with a cinematic aura. Powerful world percussion combined with middle eastern melodic phrases, full of anticipation and drive. Think Homeland and Syriana -- tension, conflict, prisoner, secret hideout, nuclear warhead, troops moving, etc. Cinematic / Orchestral / Percussion / Action / Trailer music. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
A dark, threatening and at times violent royalty free music track for horror, mystery and suspense. The track features a staccato, nervous rhythm of dark hits. The middle of the track sees the tension build up to some "drama hits" (which can be cut out and used in isolation), before going into a final third with a slow hip-hop like rhythm, to give the track a spy / thriller edge. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 107 BPM]
Robert Schumann, Faschingsschwank aus Wien, Op. 26, IV. Intermezzo in E-flat minor. Performed live in studio by renowned concert pianist Vadim Chaimovich, exclusively for Shockwave-Sound.com. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 0 BPM]
Dark, cinematic and light suspenseful music track made with chamber orchestra. No divided parts. Dark / Spooky / Eerie / Quirky music. [Tempo: Medium / 145 BPM]
Soft, slow and moody with a feeling of intrigue and mystery. Orchestral strings, catchy synth leads and distant synth pulses mix with a spacey trip-hop style rhythm section groove. Contains strings, synths, bass and drums. [Tempo: Slow / 70 BPM]
An ominous and foreboding suspense music, starting slowly and then rising into an emotional, epic piece. Featuring full orchestra combined with piano and pulsating synths. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 155 BPM]
An edgy, dark and dramatic, Cinematic orchestral track with full orchestra, choir and marching drums. Staccato, relentless, powerful, determined. This track was made with an actual live orchestra recording combined with use of samples. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 80 BPM]
A pensive and emotive intro part, grows into a powerful, percussive, tense and dynamic cinematic theme. Strong / Sound Design / Trailer / Edgy music track. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 150 BPM]
Dark, Pensive underscore track for Action Thriller / Mystery / Horror / Sci-fi / Adventure. A Tribal / Ancient / Mystical backdrop meets with Ethereal pads and pounding percussion. Awe / Tension / Amazement / Drama. A rich, cinematic, dark sound. Available with or without the drums, and with or without the ethereal vocals. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 90 BPM]
A mystical and ethereal track that will work for scenes of fantasy, dreaming and fantasy. [Tempo: Slow / 75 BPM]
Battle drums / marching percussion. A combination of orchestral percussion and ethnic / tribal drums. Suitable for battle, fight, chase, conflict, etc. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 70 BPM]
A suspense and slowly evolving music track with a mystic and trailer feel combined. Synths are layered with orchestra, with pulsating bass, and epic choir at the end. Sci-fi / Fantasy / Action thriller, etc. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 85 BPM]
A dark, pulsating, futuristic blockbuster music track, featuring repetitive synth combined with full orchestra, bringing hybbrid blend of modern cinematic approach. Powerful / Mysterious Music. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
Edgy and dramatic percussive impact. Tense and aggressive music, with a tribal feel. Trailer / Battle / Epic Futuristic Music. [Tempo: Fast, Very fast / 130 BPM]
An intense, royalty free cinematic music track featuring dramatic strings, deep bass and suspense snare section. Filled with energy, rising sounds, and deep sub bass synths. The melody is carried by a big horn section. Danger / Critical Situation / Rescue Mission etc. [Tempo: Medium / 125 BPM]
A dramatic, serious epic cinematic track. Blend of symphonic instruments, expressive choirs, synths and electro/dubstep rhythm. Massive sound. A feel of a danger or inevitable dramatic events. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 77 BPM]
World orchestral track with a very sensual melody and a driving groove. Features ethnic percussion with string orchestra and bamboo flute and a very Middle Eastern flavor. [Tempo: Medium / 92 BPM]
