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 dark, stressed battle or conflict track. Pulsating, big ethnic percussion, darkly twisted orchestral textures, vocal chants. Danger, tense situation. Rock guitar enters the mix at about 02:40. [Tempo: Medium / 87 BPM]
A subtle underscore for film, drama, war/documentary, cultural, historical etc. Has a dark nerve, with a slightly Oriental sounding motif around the 1 minute mark, which is followed by a sorrowful, desolate piano theme and a crescendo at about 2 mins. [Tempo: Slow / 55 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]
Terrifying, thriller, Chase, chilly, nervous tension, sinister, threatening, creepy. Horns, strings, cello, drone, flute, pads, synths. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 0 BPM]
A feeling of suspense and eerieness. Chase, suspense, urgent, uneasy, tension, anticipation. Sneaky tension. World percussion, strings, horns, synths. [Tempo: Medium / 83 BPM]
An underscore track for use in film, games, and media. Varying intensities of fantasy / adventure background music, good for in-game, in-film, drama, cultural, historical and discovery. Has a sense of dark mystery, exotic mysticism, perhaps ancient dark secrets or undiscovered lands. [Tempo: Slow / 0 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]
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]
An evil, Far East / Oriental style 'bad guy' theme that moves slowly, but threateningly to create a sense of anxiety. The Erhu is backed by a deep chanting male choir, drums and tense strings. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
A brooding sense of danger that builds to a climax. Heavy brass are aided by stabbing strings and thumping percussion which is great to use as trek music with big landscape shots, in which the bad guys are after the good guys. [Tempo: Medium / 89 BPM]
Impending doom that builds with cinematic awe to a climactic chasm at 01:09. Suspenseful, tense, foreboding, nervous. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 130 BPM]
A melody of spacious strings & soprano voice quickly descend into darkness & mystery. Fantasy, sci-fi, adventure. Perhaps magic or mysterious intrigues. Amazement, wonderment. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 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]
A dark, grand orchestral climax, dominated by brass and strings. Great to use in a horror scene where the bad guy gets killed, as there is a hint of victory about it, left with a question mark with the tracks abrupt end. Also good for dramatic scenes of emergency, rescue, fire and real-life dangerous situations etc. The track 'takes off' at about 45 seconds in. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 0 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]
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]
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 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]
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]
A dark, tense and dramatic, textured film score piece. Very slight eastern European feel, but certainly not limited to that region. [Tempo: Slow / 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 sneaky and creepy semi-orchestral soundtrack piece. Twitchy and nervous strings, scattered piano notes, metal clanks, subtle pulsating rhythms. Suitable for horror/scifi as well as for documentary, forensics, murder investigation etc. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 96 BPM]
An intense epic action cue that starts mysterious and builds to full out action with driving percussion rhythms, orchestral energy, and big drums, underscoring anything from a fast car chase to a battle between man and machine. Very much in the vein of John Powell's "Bourne" movies and the scores of Hanz Zimmer and Steve Jablonsky ("Batman Begins" and "Transformers"). [Tempo: Fast / 138 BPM]
Sneaky and darkly pensive underscore for drama or dark mystery. Perhaps crime scene investigation, criminal activity, lurking danger. Suitable for documentary, film score, TV drama or nervous tense moments of reality show etc. Sneaking pads, dark bass undertow, unnerving and twitchy strings. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 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]
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]
An ambient film soundtrack cue with a very mysterious edge. Pensive, slowly moving soundscape, like hiding, sneaking, or breaking and entering. A subtle rhythmic element enters about half way through along with a deep drone, giving the track a darker, more ominous edge. Great for crime thriller, investigative documentary, a tense moment during reality show or forensic investigation, etc. [Tempo: Slow / 109 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]
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]
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]
Huge, wide-ranging score of epic proportion - last warrior on a blood-soaked battlefield pulls himself out of the mire only to discover that he is the last man standing. He gathers his strength and returns to his village in triumph but with a broken spirit. This score contains mystical elements, bombastic outbursts, scenes of total destruction and unimaginable tragedy and despair, with a driving rhythmic second half building to a heroic climax and eerily subdued final resolution. Good for epic battle, blood-soaked battleground, action/adventure. This track is recorded with a real live philharmonic orchestra. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 0 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]
A serene string introduction grows into a hybrid orchestra with asian instruments playing an energetic passage. A hypnotic electric guitar takes over and brings the music to a peaceful, uplifting ending. [Tempo: Medium / 124 BPM]
This aggressive cinematic piece starts with a chaotic string crescendo, and abruptly changes to a dramatic and forceful orchestral texture. Great for action trailers and sequences. [Tempo: Fast / 143 BPM]
Dark and ominous event, eerie sounds, threatening and edgy, sustains with aggressive internal percussive events. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 100 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]
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]
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]
Adventurous orchestral percussion score takes you flying over vast landscapes. An orchestral underscore piece with a military styled theme. Serious, intense mood good for productions involving war, battles, plotting, planning, strategy, historical etc. [Tempo: Slow / 0 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]