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 tense and suspense track starting with a dramatic bell sequence. Rising sounds bring more power to it. The track grows and increases towards the end, joined by an intense and powerful brass section. Dramatic, staccato, serious. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 90 BPM]
An ominous sci-fi piece. Hybrid cinematic music, blending powerful analog synths with huge orchestral elements. Dark, majestic, brooding, suspenseful. Vangelis and Hans Zimmer influenced. [Tempo: Slow / 120 BPM]
Dark ambient, Horror underscore. Mysterious / Creepy / Echoey / Haunting [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 80 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]
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]
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]
A Percussion Only track, with big pounding drums in various more and less intense patterns. Useful for sound design, film scoring, games and more. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 140 BPM]
Prepare to enter battle with this tense, epic, cinematic track. Starting with percussion and gradually building with brass, strings, snare drum and even some war cries. Good for movies, video games and tv dramas ranging from ancient times through to futuristic Star Wars type battle scenes. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 70 BPM]
Dark ambient, Horror underscore. Mysterious / Suspicious / Ominous. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 80 BPM]
A tense and spooky scene is evoked with orchestra and an optional piano track. Creepy and evolving, suitable for dark, evil passages. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
Orchestral hits and numerous rises and falls make this a dramatic track that tells a story. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 125 BPM]
Aggressive track of evolving suspense and tension, odd and mysterious at times, dark and ominous at times. A punch in your face! [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 164 BPM]
Action-packed orchestral chase scene with traditional Arabic musical influences. Harmonic minor scale. Featuring dramatic strings and drums, with the occasional sting of the dulcimer. Perfect for a fight, race, or epic battle scene. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 118 BPM]
A dark and cinematic orchestral piece. Driving percussion tracks combine with darkly harmonized strings and an Indian vocal flair to create a sense of tension and urgency. [Tempo: Slow / 75 BPM]
A dangerous and overwhelming piece of background music. Powerful and intense. Will work with danger, fear and dark scenes. Good for film, drama, entertainment. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 125 BPM]
A pulsating tension track, combining electronic and orchestral elements. Serious, suspenseful, tension building and with a feeling of awe. The intensity increases throughout the track. Something big is approaching, as this cinematic music moves toward a strong conclusion. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Medium / 0 BPM]
Cello-led with cinematic orchestral with violin leads and string accompaniment. Versatile, thematic in nature, steady track with lots of movement and motion sonically. Raw, naked, film noir, chamber orchestra sound. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 90 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]
A dark and edgy piece with a sense of foreboding and ominous forces. A pulsating deep rhythm with strings, brass and occasional gothic choir chants, like from an occult séance or a dark ritual. Mystical / Tense / Occult / Horror / Creepy / Gritty / Shocking. [Tempo: Slow / 90 BPM]
A suspense filled orchestral piece. Its theme varies in transitioned formats from a tens and dramatic feel to a more dynamic one. Its progressive rhythm and heavy percussion on the second part makes it a really good action music, and its melancholic and melodious string section brings back the emotion on its opening part, offering a good transition from one to the other. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 130 BPM]
Featuring orchestra, gritty guitar and drums, this cinematic Western-styled piece could be a character study for a Western hero or antihero. Dramatic and epic, this piece could be useful in scenes depicting the conceiving of or execution of a plan (e.g. bank robbery, capturing an outlaw) or for the archetypical ride into the sunset. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 92 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]
Pulsing and bouncy music track, featuring introspective piano and rugged synthesizer that create intrigue and mystery. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
Dark and mysterious Score track with strings, horn section, sound effects and energetic percussions. Very atmospheric, dramatic and highly diversified. Ideal for thriller and all kinds of suspense. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 165 BPM]
Atmospheric Thomas Newman-style trailer music drone that slowly builds up to an action climax with cinematic drums and staccato synthstrings. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 140 BPM]
Tense orchestral piece. Pulsing drums and strings, abrasive brass and drums, haunting textures and an overall suspenseful pursuit. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 98 BPM]
A dark dystopian landscape with a driving rhythmic bass, pounding drums and blistering feedback. Resolves at 1:10 with a huge sweeping chord. [Tempo: Medium / 100 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]
A short film or television drama cue, suitable for crime thriller, mystery or an intense. Ticking rhythm, pensive movement, building to a crescendo. Perhaps a terrible realization or a gruesome discovery. [Tempo: Medium / 112 BPM]
Percussion only track / Battle drums. Tracks with Drums only are useful for action sequences, fight scenes, war and battles, macho sports and exertion, powerful imagery, dramatic trailers and more. Also available as seamlessly looping Drum loops / Percussion loops. [Tempo: Medium / 70 BPM]
A dark and powerful Action / Suspense / Thriller soundtrack that changes between "suspicion" and "battle" sequences. Alternating between suspense / pensive tones and all-out action music with powerful, urgent percussion and orchestra. Can be edited to fit the timing of your production. Use for spy thriller, military operation, action game / film etc. [Tempo: Slow, Fast, Very fast / 80 BPM]
Action, dramatic and epic track made with percussion, orchestra and more. Great for creating tension and a dramatic atmosphere in your project. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 70 BPM]
A Percussion Only track, with marching snares, military march. Occasional big drum strikes. Useful for scenes of battle, chase, urgency, action. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Very fast / 95 BPM]
Dramatic and mysterious piano, accompanied by harp and strings. Inspired by soap opera music cliches. [Tempo: Medium / 0 BPM]
Dark American drama music with strings, guitars and drums with a menacing and foreboding mood. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 125 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]
Starting small with a sense of isolation and tension, the drama gradually intensifies, ending with an epic final note. A modern combination of piano, guitar, synths, percussion and strings. [Tempo: Slow / 90 BPM]
Heavy percussion, accented strings, blasting brass and dark synths give this track a dramatic, futuristic vibe. Intended for epic promos, video games, sports, trailer and dramatic radio cues. Also ideal for turmoil, tension and struggle in reality TV shows like Celebrity Apprentice, The Ultimate Fighter, Survivor, Fear Factor and The Bachelor. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 135 BPM]
This track has a haunted overtone and pays a subtle homage to the music 'Dexter' in the theme. This cue would work well for film or television, opening credits, paranormal footage and spooky movie trailers. It features detuned piano and haunting choirs that makes a nice ghostly tension builder. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 70 BPM]
A somewhat dark and mystical, edgy, cinematic trailer type track. Fluttering and deliberately "broken", this track has the sense of something uneasy, unstable, simmering just beneath the surface. Think demon worship, the occult. The track changes from mystical / foreboding passages to more aggressive, staccato, percussive parts, with sudden stops and starts that can be used as edit points. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 84 BPM]
A very dark and edgy track with a slow, pounding rhythm and a raw, destroyed sound. Available with, or without, the tribal shout vocals. Primal and futuristic at the same time, this track would go well with an ominous Sci-fi or Fantasy production. The version with the vocals has a more Savage / Barbarian feel, and the version without the vocals has a more Sci-fi / Metallic / Apocalyptic feel. [Tempo: Slow / 55 BPM]
An intense modern action instrumental with high-tech synthetic elements. Focused determination great for productions involving suspense, spying, chases, etc. Nice for escalating crime in progress scenes, action sequences and high intensity situations. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 120 BPM]
A Percussion Only track, with marching snares, military march. Occasional big drum strikes. Useful for scenes of battle, chase, urgency, action. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 100 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]
A tense atmosphere with lots of percussion, space and crescendo with synths and drones [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 90 BPM]
A brooding, ominous and dark soundtrack for mystery, thriller or drama. Foreboding / Tense / Threatening. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 65 BPM]
A short track that tells of darkness and sadness. [Tempo: Medium / 90 BPM]
A dark and broody hybrid track mixing electronic and orchestral elements. Creates a feeling of tension, darkness and terror. Good for a trailer, drama, crime in progress etc. [Tempo: Medium / 105 BPM]
A Percussion Only track, with big pounding drums in various more and less intense patterns. Useful for sound design, film scoring, games and more. [Tempo: Medium / 150 BPM]
Action or Sports underscore. Epic and heroic, with a dark edge. Pound for Pound Best in the world. Track builds in waves to the finish. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
