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.
A mysterious suspense music track, with piano and strings and a more rhythmical second part. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 100 BPM]
A doom-laden and magic-infused epic cinematic track. The mystical and magical opening part soon gives way to a dark, pounding, methodical and determined, marching beat with big orchestral brass stabs. Foreboding and tense, this is a great 'going to battle' track, suitable for fantasy, adventure, action, war, invasion and power. Music not unlike what you will find in cinematic trailers for big and epic fantasy movies. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 165 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]
Low, propulsive deep bass. Gradually building an atmosphere of horror, dystopia, uncertainty, and fear. Suitable for horror movies, thrillers, crime and criminal investigation, sci-fi and mystery, spies, undercover agents, danger and tension.(Stem files available.) [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 100 BPM]
Useful for animation and short animated story of two parts. Anxiety and mystery, thrill and unanswered riddle in first part. Then it quickly switches to second part which has more tension and is more dynamic, pefect for telling sad story about kind of bad thing which happened somewhere. [Tempo: Medium / 122 BPM]
Brooding and ominous, this dark tension & horror track grows from a quiet drone and builds to an intense atonal conclusion. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast, Very fast / 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]
A dark and determined, forceful and methodical, orchestral march. Relentlessly marching on, an awesome force. Dark / Foreboding / Relentless / Doom-laden / Forceful. [Tempo: Medium / 95 BPM]
Soundtrack for battle scenes or impending battles. Big, epic and dominating strings, brass and cymbals collide to create the atmosphere for war. Adventurous, courageous, crusading music. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
An ominous, dark and dramatic, orchestral / cinematic piece. Foreboding strings build up towards a change at about 30 seconds, into a more dramatic section with choir and big drums. Epic, dark, almost ritualistic. [Tempo: Slow / 95 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]
Slow brush drums hitting softly with distorted long sounds and some scary sounds. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 60 BPM]
String quintet developing a dramatic theme, suited for dramatic series involving psycological or criminal content. Timeless, with a classic / classical influence music. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 160 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 / 9 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]
Opening with a simple ambient piano motif, this track soon explodes into a dark, passion fuelled combination of distorted guitars and driving percussion - Dramatic / Aggressive / Futuristic. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 110 BPM]
A dark, mysterious track with an unusual instrumention of a jazz group. Classic, old school Horror type cue. The Zodiac Killer would probably listen to this as he stalked his next victim. [Tempo: Slow / 110 BPM]
Pulsating, monotonous bass. Occasional repetitive piano melody. Minimal percussion, building sound effects. Evokes a sense of menace, mystery, uncertainty and tension. Suitable for dramatic films, spies and undercover agents, criminals / crime in progress and stakeout operations. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 77 BPM]
Dark pulse. Evil / Malevolent. Sneaky / Suspicious. Horror / Gothic underscore. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 90 BPM]
An epic, rising track. Suspenseful, with deep bass, risers, whooshes and ominous strings. This track has a serious, foreboding feel and a powerful orchestral + percussion sound, with some hybrid / digital elements too. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 90 BPM]
Horror Mystery Soundtrack. Intrusive / Malevolent / Dark Hits / Disturbing. [Tempo: Slow / 0 BPM]
A gritty, tense and constantly building track with a sudden halt to push towards the next boundary in the middle of this cinematic soundtrack. Suitable for dramatic, edgy and dark story-telling. A raw, dark and intense orchestral soundtrack. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Fast / 160 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]
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]
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]
Fast rhythmic tempo. Low, propulsive bass. Looping sequences. Suitable for scenes depicting escape, dynamic pursuits, crime in progress. Stress, chase, action, time running out. Ideal for police operations / Special Ops, crime thriller or mystery, where the need is to convey fast-paced action. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Fast, Very fast / 150 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]
Tense, indecisive, foreboding, listless and restless. Swell near end delivering to lingering tension that can resolve or be left hanging. Good for drama, intrigue, moral dilemma, daytime drama, troubled romance. This track is recorded with a real live philharmonic orchestra. [Tempo: Slow / 0 BPM]
Beginning with a dark and eerie bass drone filled with suspense and intrigue and accompanied by old west style guitar licks, this down-tempo trip hop trickle evolves into a full scale torrent of aggressive, slamming rock guitar driven mayhem. Ideal for gaming - especially cut scenes - but also great for use in extreme sports and advertising. The tension rises... this can only end one way! [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 58 BPM]
Ominous thriller underscore. Piano theme joined by slowly rising strings and a low level rhythmic pulse. Subtle but serious -- suitable for political drama or thriller, law, action, crime or mystery. A sense of tragedy or serious consequences. [Tempo: Medium / 94 BPM]
Suitable for intense psychological dramas, or spy vs spy drama action films. A modern combination of orchestra, percussion, synth and electric guitar. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 105 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]
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]
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]
A stormful, staccato, orchestral / cinematic piece for drama, tv, documentaries, period drama, nature and more. Urgent, active, dramatic, turmoil. [Tempo: Fast / 180 BPM]
A dark and obscure track with accented strings, huge percussive hits, sound effects and ambient synths. Ideal for dramatic breaking news and reality TV cues such as Dateline NBC and Rock Center. Useful for news investigations, videos involving turmoil, struggle, elimination and the idea of serial killers, crime scenes, murder, twisted plots, Halloween and Investigation Discovery. [Tempo: Slow / 78 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]
A truly grand and epic track. Hybrid orchestral, with electronic percussion and electric guitar and a choir joining in later. A sense of high drama and epic journeys. Amazement / Heroic / Determined / Grand. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 125 BPM]
A suspenseful, tense theme. Orchestral hybrid that features a simple haunting cello solo. The piece grows over time and incorporates an ethereal piano and high whispered strings. Fitting for a modern suspense thriller or horror movie. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 70 BPM]
A dark and ominous underscore with ambient guitar sounds. Mysterious and with a feeling of unbearable heat, or a dark, damp place. Think Breaking Bad, Banshee or other modern western, or doom laden TV / Film music. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 90 BPM]
Electronic percussion and eerie electric piano melodies generate an atmosphere of tension and suspense. The mystery thickens and new sound layers are added in a dramatic, hypnotic crescendo with a few stops, perfect for edit points. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 88 BPM]
A soundtrack for mystery and intrigue. Uneasy stirrings. Suspicion, underlying tension. An elegant mystery theme in classic TV/film style. [Tempo: Medium / 92 BPM]
A hybrid orchestral / electronic track with a strong sense of amazement and drama. Dark, but also soaring, this track has a Sci-fi / Future feel, but also an almost primal edge to it. Good for Scifi / Fantasy / Action adventure. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 70 BPM]
An dark, electronic / orchestral crossover track with drama. Slow string runs that are backed by legato strings along with the low cello. Emotional strings build up to the first big hit that features a massive distorted synthesizer and mega brass drone hits. The main drop is heavy with distorted drums and high pitched strings. The track keeps building with a big riser to a massive final hit. Suitable for trailers, sci-fi, war / scenes of battle, conflict, escape, rescue mission etc. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 75 BPM]
This track is a frightening dark ambient music bed that is well suited for horror, thrillers, suspense, fantasy footage, as welll as video games. It has haunting overtones that make a nice tension builder. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
A pulsing synthesizer sets the tone for a dark atmosphere in the beginning. Drums with a hint of bit-crushed distortion build up and then quiet down before a massive drop. The main drop hits with a huge impact of drums and low bass. Layered in electronic melody gives the track a modern and edgy feel, but keeps a serious tone. Resembles "Tron Legacy" soundtrack. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 70 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]
For sinister characters with murder on their minds or other scenes of darkness and danger this track fits the bill. Features percussion, harp, piano and various sfx. Perfect for TV dramas such as Dexter, Criminal Minds, CSI etc. [Tempo: Slow / 90 BPM]
Dramatic and mystical film score/soundtrack made with orchestra and synths. Spy / Mystery / Crime / Action Music. [Tempo: Medium / 100 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]
