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.
Dramatic and mysterious piano, accompanied by harp and strings. Inspired by soap opera music cliches. [Tempo: Medium / 0 BPM]
Tense, horrific survival music, blending hard percussion with orchestral elements. Changes between pensive, nervous parts and more action filled parts for chase, action scenes. Nervous, slightly chaotic, disoriented. [Tempo: Medium / 95 BPM]
A very pensive underscore track, suitable for drama or thriller. Thoughtful, a sense of time passing, clues coming into place. Starts out with a simple piano and grows in intensity towards a frantic crescendo at about 01:15 before returning to the original, sparse theme once again. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 139 BPM]
Slow chords, ominous and serious, full orchestra. Good as underscore for drama, scifi, fantasy and adventure. Also for crime, spy conspiracy and personal turmoil, conflict. [Tempo: Slow / 61 BPM]
A dark and ominous fantasy / adventure soundtrack, dominated by dark and moody pad textures and a muted trumpet. This track starts out sneaky and foreboding, and grows over time, gradually building up the intensity towards a climax at the end. A combination of orchestral and modern sounds, the track is gloomy, eerie and majestic. [Tempo: Slow / 97 BPM]
A subtle orchestral film soundtrack underscore, nervous and dark with a feeling of mystery and hidden truths. Delicate, frail strings, mysterious woodwinds, sneaky backdrop. Good for drama, exploration, danger, lurking and sneaking, unfolding story. Dark and pensive, but not openly horror or terror. More suspicion, exploration in a dark place. Good for film and TV, also for adventure games etc. [Tempo: Very slow / 81 BPM]
Expanding ambient, cosmic textures, futuristic layers, good for sci-fi, contact and discovery. [Tempo: Very slow / 119 BPM]
Unique blend of regal strings and horns and hefty guitars. The verse is a slow grooving electro beat which builds slowly via a b section of clean swirling guitar and lamenting vocal loops into an explosion of guitars and drums. Very filmically dramatic, intense and quite unexpected. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 75 BPM]
Funky yet slightly sinister bouncey dance track. Synth basses, leads and drum loops. The chorus brings uplifting string and electric piano stabs and lines. Like Kraftwerk jamming with Earth, Wind and Fire... if only. Would suit thriller, spy/sci-fi or action projects. [Tempo: Medium / 100 BPM]
Begins with a hypnotic synth bass hook and drum hook. As electric piano comes in, it slowly builds and eventually flowers into a lovely mellow pop chorus. Once the beat gets to you, it is mesmerizing. [Tempo: Medium / 160 BPM]
A slow, brooding warning of trouble ahead. Has a dark mysterious but ominous and unsettled feeling to it. Simple piano lines combine with evolving strings and cool drum loops to make you grimace at what might unfold. [Tempo: Slow / 71 BPM]
Dark, twisted electronic track full of foreboding. Sinister synth pads and bass combine with simple spacey piano lines and lush strings. The chorus blooms into a soft peaceful section, a release from the foreboding mood of the verse. [Tempo: Medium / 116 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]
Suspense-filled heavy guitar dance track. Meaty and angular beats combine with synth basslines, sequences and pads. Very filmic, slightly dark and full of tense energy. Contains synths, drum units and distorted guitars. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 110 BPM]
Dramatic, hypnotic & edgy electro-rock track with great nervous tension and forward momentum. Would suit medical / spy / mystery / thriller type drama projects. [Tempo: Medium / 97 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]
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]
Eerie, brooding and chilling electro-rock track that slowly creeps up behind you then explodes into electrified malevolence. Would suit scary chiller, thriller or sci-fi projects. [Tempo: Slow / 60 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]
This massively dramatic track starts off sneaky, pensive, nervous, but keeps growing and growing into an almighty, determined, dramatic and hard hitting climax / finale. Dark, malevolent, with pounding tribal drums, choir chants, full orchestra. Very epic and cinematic, victorious / majestic. Suitable for epic productions, sports footage, dramatic trailers, sci-fi / fantasy / adventure and more. Also available as a Rock Mix with added power guitars and rock drums, and as an alternative version without the choir. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 120 BPM]
A strong, powerful, menacing, epic filmscore track. Symphonic orchestra and choir mixed with techno/industrial elements to create a feel of futuristic or modern warfare, mechanoids, space battle, transformers fighting, brawling or stand-off. Suitable for future / sci-fi / metal and glass, fire and destruction, dramatic trailers, battle / chase / conflict / war scenes. Also available as a Rock Mix with added power guitars and rock drums, and as an alternative version without the choir. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 123 BPM]
An ominous, edgy, tense, semi-orchestral and semi-industrial action soundtrack. Orchestra with epic percussion, majestic sounding choir. Glorious / glorifying but also tense / terror / dark power, with a technology / mechanical edge. Good for dramatic trailers, modern and futuristic warfare, battle / fight, sci-fi and fantasy, action adventure, raw/violent sports footage and more. Also available as a Rock Mix with added power guitars and rock drums, and as an alternative version without the choir. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 136 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]
Medium slow, intensely powerfully epic, spacey, grinder rock track. Has a dark & menacing atmosphere built by heavy guitars mixing with massive drum grooves & spacious synth textures. Would suit extreme sports / horror / action / thriller projects. Potent stuff. [Tempo: Slow / 106 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]
Soothing, tranquil and yet slightly mysterious and uneasy orchestral piece. Unusual blend of piano, strings and ambient synth sounds to make this track a little journey through different moods. Contains piano, strings, synths and drums. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 70 BPM]
A staccato, ominous, aggressive march, perhaps portaying battle ready hordes going off to war. Fantasy and adventure, medieval or historical, conquering forces. [Tempo: Slow / 56 BPM]
Dark, grand, glorious, glorifying soundtrack piece. Rising up, epic, dominant, malevolent. Low choir voices. Pounding rhythm. Staccato brass stabs. Powerful, determined. [Tempo: Medium / 100 BPM]
Dark, grand, glorious, glorifying soundtrack piece. Rising up, epic, dominant, malevolent. Low choir voices. Pounding rhythm. Staccato brass stabs. Powerful, determined. Perhaps a dark temple, evil wizard, sorcerer or religious cult, sect, religion, ritual. [Tempo: Medium / 70 BPM]
Epic, powerful and grand orchestral rock track with many sonic colours that starts quietly and beautifully but gradually builds into a monster as guitars crash in like a tidal wave. Would suit high drama/cinematic projects. [Tempo: Medium / 100 BPM]
Suspense soaked riff rocker which uses simple berimbau lines, clean atmospheric guitars and great big dirty guitars. Great repeated build and release. The last time has a soaring lead guitar solo. In parts, slightly reminiscent of Failure and even Nirvana. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 92 BPM]
Imagine walking through the ruins of a haunted castle at night, never knowing what night be round the next cobweb covered corner. A very black and sinister piece. Slow with a building tension. Contains synths, drum kit, guitars and bass. [Tempo: Slow / 68 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]
Sinister, disturbing track full of malevolence and high tension. Trancey bass and drums begin to creep towards you with evil intent... [Tempo: Fast / 124 BPM]
Uniquely suspense-filled, filmic track with Eastern plucked strings mixing with flutes, tribal drums and orchestral strings. Very cinematic and intense. The tune grows in power as it goes with string motifs joining the tribal drum grooves. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 96 BPM]
A huge great bouncy meatball of a tune. Pulsing synth bass and syncopated drum groove make this one swing large. Various parts come and go but the beat must and will go on. Contains synths, drums, choirs and eastern oboes. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 133 BPM]
This track is Jekyll and Hyde. The tense intro has techno beats and synth sequences which build in intensity until all hell breaks loose and the guitars enter with a hellishly ferocious and relentless riff. Contains synths, drum machines, guitars and bass. [Tempo: Medium / 127 BPM]
A glimpse into the twisted mental circuits of an alien robot killer on the prowl. Synth pads, noises and basslines overlay an edgy drum groove to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand-up. In space no one can hear you beg for mercy. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 130 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]
Spacey, tripped out, dazed and yet with innate momentum and drive. Soundtrack to a midnight sleepwalk in a big city. Contains piano, synths , bass and drums. [Tempo: Medium / 112 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]
Cool and ethereal electro rock track with a slightly sinister undertone. Spacey plucked santoors float over soft and spacey synth pads and noises as a slow, determined beat kicks in. Would suit dramatic or cinematic projects. [Tempo: Slow / 59 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]
Tough to describe in words. A hypnotic dance throb runs through this fairly avante garde track as various synth leads come in and out. Very spacey and yet relentlessly trance inducing. Brings visions of an underground pumping, sweaty nightclub scenario to mind. [Tempo: Medium / 111 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]
Spacey, slow and slightly dark electronic piece. Trancey synth-piano lines are overlaid with more jagged synth and drum noises to produce an ethereal and yet quite emotive soundscape. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 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 sparse track with a dark, grimy, gloomy, foreboding, raw, naked sound. Features heavily distorted guitar and ambient percussion. [Tempo: Slow / 104 BPM]
A series of 26 individual music tracks. Semi-orchestral, semi-electronic soundtrack work inspired by "Babylon 5", etc. Brooding, pompous, epic, military style. Some of these are grouped together -- i.e. "epic 1 calm", "epic 1 suspense" and "epic 1 battle" use the same instrumentation and underlying tempo, making them work well together. Of course, they work well individually too. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 42 BPM]
Dark, ominous and foreboding, semi-orchestral film soundtrack. Mysterious, ominous and threatening, but always restrained and sneaky, this is a great underscore for adventure, mystery, journey, fantasy RPG etc. [Tempo: Slow / 0 BPM]