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.
Action oriented hybrid orchestral track, with a lot of metallic percussion and powerful blasts. Starts off with distorted electronic percussion and mystery strings, then develops into a powerful tense motif. Good for spy, military, invasion and high octane action. [Tempo: Medium / 110 BPM]
Edgy electronic underscore, with a feeling of urgency and danger. Complex and intricate but un-intrusive. [Tempo: Medium / 130 BPM]
A suspenseful introduction with synths, percussion, and piano lends way to a faster paced, exciting, tension building track with the addition of strings, pads, melodic motifs, and driving rhythms. [Tempo: Medium / 91 BPM]
Massive, pounding percussion with the rattle of chains. A mechanical, unnatural sound... all this and a bed of disturbing atmospheric layers makes this one heck of a scary track. Perfect for halloween, haunted houses and horror films. [Tempo: Slow / 119 BPM]
A pensive, determined, cinematic score. Perhaps the pivotal point or turning point in a story - a decisive moment. A sense of urgency, determination and drama. Also good for commercials / advertising with a mysterious, dark edge, perhaps technology, power or determination. [Tempo: Fast / 142 BPM]
Terrifying, thriller, Chase, chilly, nervous tension, sinister, threatening, creepy. Horns, strings, cello, drone, flute, pads, synths. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 0 BPM]
Dark pulse. Evil / Malevolent. Sneaky / Suspicious. Horror / Gothic underscore. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 90 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]
Orchestra, piano, choir and drums suggest a foreboding realization. Ominous and haunting. [Tempo: Slow / 100 BPM]
Electronic underscore with large percussion, warm synth tones, buzzy synth appregios and complex Moog undertones. Sports, Crime, Automotive. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
Harp, piano and cello work together to make this mysterious track come to life. Moments of wonder and magic simulate occasional discoveries. A mix of light and darkness, somewhat neutral; general background. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 0 BPM]
Soundtrack / Sci-fi / Space / Fantasy. Understated and a little ominous, this track evokes a subtle sense of being threatened. Could work in dystopian settings or scenes involving suspense or danger. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 110 BPM]
A desolate landscape, something mysterious and sinister whistles in the chilling wind. It makes it's way closer and closer; slowly but surely. A sense of inevitability, perfect for a subtle touch in tense scenes, horror, or right before an action scene. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 121 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]
Driving Score track with e-guitars, effects and heavy drum/percussion sounds. Edgy, menacing and aggressive. Good for action, pursuits and thrilling fight scenes. [Tempo: Slow / 120 BPM]
Dark American drama music with strings, guitars and drums with a menacing and foreboding mood. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 125 BPM]
A propulsive track featuring both acoustic and electric guitars, drums and synth. Intense drama simmers just beneath the surface, ready to boil over at any moment. [Tempo: Slow / 80 BPM]
Dark and ominously hybrid tension music with electronica elements, pulsating rhythm, deep, impactful taiko percussion, and ambient pads. Suitable for suspenseful film scenes, thriller documentaries, and crime investigation podcasts. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 100 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]
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]
Orchestral hits and numerous rises and falls make this a dramatic track that tells a story. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 125 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]
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 / 78 BPM]
Impending doom that builds with cinematic awe to a climactic chasm at 01:09. Suspenseful, tense, foreboding, nervous. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 130 BPM]
Military / Science fiction soundtrack style. A slow, pensive and mysterious opening gives way after a couple of minutes to a pompous, staccato horn stabs and marching snares and all-out battle with horn stabs and fast congas. Sci-fi and battle/chase scenes. Ominous, dramatic, conflict. [Tempo: Medium / 80 BPM]
An epic orchestral track, great for scenes of a grand adventure, action, new discoveries, a fantasy world, an epic journey. It has a dramatic, awe-inspiring feel with a heroic and cinematic sound. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
Energetic percussion/electronic track with impelling synth riffs, huge orchestral drums. Perfect for action films, extreme sports and trailers. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 120 BPM]
Orchestra starts small, adding a touch of tension and uncertainty, but soon builds to an inspiring punchy melody. A soaring heroic horn melody comes in after a while, and carries us through to a big ending. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 75 BPM]
Dark and ominous event, eerie sounds, threatening and edgy, sustains with aggressive internal percussive events. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 100 BPM]
Disturbing, distorted, uneasy and malevolent. Highly suitable for scifi, game, thriller or action film. String lines nervous and staccato, dissonant string stabs with busy percussion. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow, Medium / 112 BPM]
This dark soundscape builds and builds. [Tempo: Slow / 84 BPM]
Horror Mystery Soundtrack. Unearthly / Mystical / Lurking / Increasing, growing, crescendo, climax. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 0 BPM]
Edgy ambient/rock, heavy, dark, industrial. Sort of ambient electronic at the beginning. Kicks off towards the end of track with a build up. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 105 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 tense and uneasy soundtrack cue for a dangerous situation. Dark, ominous, threatening, foreboding. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 80 BPM]
Building from an uneasy atmosphere into complete Bedlam with a variety of orchestral passages, stabs and flourishes. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 114 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]
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 tense atmosphere with lots of percussion, space and crescendo with synths and drones [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 90 BPM]
Richly harmonized strings combine with dark brass undertones to create a cinematic vibe in this dramatic orchestral piece. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 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]
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 and pulsing music track, featuring tense strings, electronic textures and sparse punchy percussion creates a foreboding and fearful mood [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 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]
"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, 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]
Mystery / Intrigue / Suspicion. Subtle rhythm loop with gloomy electric piano and uneasy strings. Perhaps analysis, clues, mystery, or a story taking a dark turn… [Tempo: Slow / 86 BPM]
This dark, suspenseful track builds tension with a combination of synth elements, huge percussion, and piano. Perfect for a reality TV show elimination scene, in which someone gets voted off, or a chase scene in a horror movie. [Tempo: Slow / 81 BPM]
Suspense ambient track. It features dark soundscapes, synth melody and electronic loops. [Tempo: Medium / 95 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]
