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.
Abrasive and jarring machine-like rhythmic elements, epic and otherworldly with ominous undertones and rising in intensity. Works great with crime, industrial, steampunk and sci-fi scenes. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 126 BPM]
Ambient background track with an uneasy, pensive feel. Dark, ominous and threatening, this track suggests danger and death. The track could suit scenes in a graveyard or other dark place, or tense scenes where a character is sneaking around, trying to avoid being caught. Exploring at night, dangers lurking. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
Aggressive and ominous, this dark orchestral piece suggests an apocalyptic threat. The quick string work in this piece lends it to scenes of vehicles driving quickly, perhaps to confront a foe, perhaps to escape one. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 95 BPM]
A slow opening emotional cinematic music track with a simple piano melody and a large string ensamble orchestration. Minimal drums and analog sub bass give this track a modern feel, while orchestral elements bring a sense of an epic crescendo. Great music for motivational videos, emotional trailer or investigation / mystery / crime. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 130 BPM]
A tense musical sound texture combining percussive elements and dissonant orchestral sweeps. Suspenseful, intense, ominous. Conflict/Danger. Film soundtrack, game soundtrack or documentary / reality drama etc. [Tempo: Fast / 124 BPM]
A classic dashing romantic track in the style of Max Steiner and MGM films that will work for scenes of adventure and romance with a hint of danger. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 60 BPM]
Serious, pensive, cinemematic underscore music with strings, piano and subtle beats. Foreboding / Suspenseful Music. [Tempo: Slow / 80 BPM]
Tense, industrial trailer type track. Intro: 0'45'' – 0'45'', build: 0'46'' – 1'30'', climax starts at 1'32'. Starts tense and enigmatic, increases in intensity to tribal drums from 1'09''. Dramatic / Tension / Awe. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 85 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 Percussion Only track, with big pounding drums in various more and less intense patterns. Useful as music for sound design, film scoring, games and more. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 130 BPM]
A soundtrack that builds from deep anticipation into filtered drums, scattered instrumentation and an uneasy, thrilling sensation of discovery. Top & tailed with twisted, eerie strings giving a climactic feeling of fear & forboding. similar in style to US & Scandanavian TV crime drama scores or science & technology documentaries. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 100 BPM]
A track that slowly crescendos, building on a foundation of synth and horns, accented with violin ostinatos. A powerful, resolute statement. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 78 BPM]
Inspired by 80's sci-fi and horror films revived today by Stranger Things. Ominous blend of synthesizers and orchestral tones, with a repetitive tense motif. Cinematic, Thriller, Suspense, Terror, Sci-Fi, Retro. [Tempo: Slow / 84 BPM]
A cinematic track in four sections. Thin, ambient opening. Wood blocks, bells, and chimes sparkle, while powerful string and brass sections drive the piece forwards. Soft, gentle resolution. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Slow / 64 BPM]
A rapid action theme suggesting a chase or pursuit. Scored for orchestra and choir, this track suggests a flight from danger in unsettling surroundings. It could also serve well in scenes where characters are facing a countdown or deadline. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 142 BPM]
A dark, sneaky, and malevolent sounding underscore for sci-fi, mystery and horror. For the most part dark ambient, but two sections with pounding drums that can be edited into place for a more action based bed track. Horrific / Extreme danger / Otherworldly. Also available without the drums and with / without the vocal. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 90 BPM]
A dark, brooding piece. It starts with a low synthy bass. The melody is subtle, but grows with each iteration. It builds as it repeats itself. The last section adds a subtle rhythmic element, insinuating a growing nervousness. Perfect for a documentary or horror film/tv show. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 80 BPM]
A gritty and harsh, semi-orchestra, semi-electronic music track with a very edgy futuristic feel. Dramatic and ominous music. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 130 BPM]
A dark and suspense trailer track with an atmospheric and dramatic mood. Lots of rising effects, soundscapes and hybrid synths. Edgy, dramatic, tense. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 110 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]
A dark, tense and urgent music track with synths and orchestra. Dramatic and powerful music mood, with an apocalyptic edge. [Tempo: Fast / 140 BPM]
A series of 4 pieces of textural, ambient, musical soundscapes. Suitable for documentary, cultural, history, archeology, travel and exploration, mystery and more. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
Dark, moody and edgy underscore track with an industrial sound, starting with drones, pads and synths, then drums enter and the track continues to grow in energy, eventually finishing with crazy and deranged sounding synths. Perfect for anything unsettling or gritty, dark etc. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 120 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]
Huge stabs give way to twisted maniacal anguish and haunted voices. Tragic theme introduces a grim march propelled by determination and grit. The theme is presented at the end in a burst of triumph and heroism. Good for epic battle, fight to the finish, dark action. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow, Medium, Fast / 0 BPM]
Battle drums / marching percussion. A combination of orchestral percussion and ethnic / tribal drums. Suitable for battle, fight, chase, conflict, etc. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 102 BPM]
A dark, suspenseful and pensive, ambient track made with various synths, male monk voices and other pad based effects. Suspense / Dark / Apocalyptic. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 78 BPM]
Disturbing but exotic and intensely moving. Electronic pads accompany Indian slide guitar in a dark environment. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
Dark, eerie, mystical soundscapes, with a tribal, ethnic, jungle feel. Mystery / Suspense / Tension. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 0 BPM]
A dark and dramatic, hybrid orchestral track with a scifi feel. Crisis / Edgy / Heroic. The track has a melodic element that rises up, up, towards a sudden drop off at 01:28, followed by a dark and ominous end part.
[Tempo: Medium / 124 BPM]An epic and rousing track for fantasy, adventure, epic trailers. Emotional and lively, this track features big percussion, full orchestra and choir. Valiant and heroic. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 77 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]
Surreal, mystical music with a hint of darkness and melancholy. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
A mystical and amazing track featuring full orchestra, choir and a solo female voice with a very exotic, foreign, strange and alluring tone. Dramatic and intense, the orchestra sweeps and swoops, whilst the voice provides a strange and unusual quality; is she wailing in sorrow or spinning a web of intrigue and temptation? Also available without the vocals. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 160 BPM]
Dark, twisted and sinister electro-metal track. Eerie synths and hypnotic bass meet in a head-on collision to form a powerful formula . Imagine Nine Inch Nails jamming with Massive Attack and asking Jeff Beck to guest. [Tempo: Slow / 63 BPM]
Deep, dark and brooding synths combine in a strange rhythmical glory. Weird and wonderful, works great with technology advertising and futuristic scenes. Electronic / 80's / Future Music. [Tempo: Medium / 110 BPM]
This orchestral cinematic cue contains two parts/sections. The first 30 seconds has a strong tension and a rhythmic pulse, with a foreboding, dark tone. The second part, from about 30 seconds onwards, is more melancholic, sorrowful and wistful, with a sense of loss or realization. [Tempo: Slow / 90 BPM]
Music with a hurried, urgent, active and bustling feel. Rush, chase, stress, high activity level. Time running out, things being done in a hurry. Neo-classical music, orchestra with piano. [Tempo: Fast, Very fast / 136 BPM]
Hybrid industrial trailer music track with pounding drums and sound design elements. Tense, urgent, violent music. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 146 BPM]
Dark ambient synth pulse, made for tension, mystery and suspense. Besides the main track, this piece comes in many different seamless loops which can be used in combination with each other to 'build' the soundtrack needed for a scene, in a modular way. Simply place the different loops on the timeline, in a way that matches your on-screen action, or blend, combine, crop and join the loop pieces to create your own 'version' of the track. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 100 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]
Semi-orchestral, semi-industrial and powerful thriller soundtrack. Dark string and brass textures, a pulsating beat that oozes just under the surface. Serious, international conflict, war or battleground, covert mission, etc. [Tempo: Slow / 50 BPM]
Dark and foreboding sound design elements building with percussion and threatening strings. Violent and edgy. Epic / Trailer / Tension Music. [Tempo: Very slow, Fast, Very fast / 126 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 Percussion Only track, with big pounding drums in various more and less intense patterns. Useful as music for sound design, film scoring, games and more. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 80 BPM]
A very dark, futuristic, edgy and gritty track for dark sci-fi, fantasy, etc. This track has a vocal chant part that makes it feel ritualistic, or just threatening, ominous, dramatic. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 65 BPM]
Starts with an ominous repetitive low horn blow, and builds up towards a full orchestral and choir theme. Dark and powerful trailer music, inspired by mind bending, psychological and twisted up sci-fi action thrillers. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 100 BPM]
An electronic and orchestral piece, with elements of dubstep. Heavy tension is strongly present throughout, and the overall feel is reminiscent of an epic film battle. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 80 BPM]
Sneaky, threatening, pensive, semi-orchestral rhythmic underscore. Use to illustrate danger, lurking enemies, suspicion and uneasy feeling, the sense of a threat hiding behind the next turn. Dangerous situation. Ominous, foreboding and sinister. Good for action-adventure, dramatic reality-TV, fantasy- or action games, spy thriller, police drama, and more. [Tempo: Medium / 90 BPM]
A bone chilling, minimal score of sound design and heavily effected, droning instruments perfect for horror, crime and mystery. Very tense, serious and dark. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 100 BPM]
