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.
Tires squealing, sirens blaring, adrenalin flowing. The Chase begins. Dramatic, suspenseful, powerful track mixing electronic and orchestral elements. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 81 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]
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, Medium / 105 BPM]
Dark, evil, wicked, sinister, unnerving, cinematic, haunting, disturbed soundtrack to impending danger. Scary, edgy, bleak, ominous, doomy soundscape for use in horror / halloween / space / crime / murder type projects. [Tempo: Slow / 100 BPM]
This track combines strange noises with unusual, repeated, freaky piano melodies. This would work well as part of a freaky dream or nightmare sequence. It also could work quite well in the horror genre or during a haunting. Also quite perfect for Halloween and haunted houses. [Tempo: Slow / 0 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]
Battle drums / war drums / tribal drums. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 75 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]
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]
Pure suspense with lots of tension and a thumping heartbeat. Think a horrific crime scene, or a deadly chase through a dark forest. Repetitive motifs but constantly building and evolving to enhance the drama and suspense. Synth swells are presented separately to allow for dramatic placement anywhere in the track. Good for crime, suspense, drama, TV, film. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 0 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]
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 thrilling, cinematic trailer Sting that is epic and intense. It starts with rising orchestral clusters that begin ecalating into massive, terrifying, dramatic impacts that are designed to have your viewrs on the edge of their seat. This would be excellent for trailers, tv, movies and film, promos, bumpers and video games. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 0 BPM]
A thrilling cinematic trailer Sting that is epic and intense. It starts with rising orchestral clusters that begin ecalating into massive, terrifying, dramatic impacts that are designed to have your viewrs on the edge of their seat. This would be excellent for trailers, tv, movies and film, promos, bumpers and video games. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 100 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]
A slow building, pulsating futuristic track in the style of Batman, Tron, Watchmen and Star Trek. Deep percussion and flowing strings make this track dramatic and dark yet inspiring and uplifting. In the style of Steve Jablonsky, Hans Zimmer, John Williams and James Horner. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 152 BPM]
Stalkers, serial killers, crime scenes, murder, twisted plots and Investigation Discovery shows. The chaotic and evil sounding prepared piano and sound design creates evil thoughts of Halloween, ghosts, cults and the supernatural. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 120 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]
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]
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 dark and pensive Sci-fi / futuristic underscore. Cinematic, slowly developing, with a deeply pulsating beat and string section. Uneasy, tense, gloomy. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 65 BPM]
Synth and orchestra, in the style of modern thrillers like the Bourne movies. The music keeps the suspense going yet doesn't get big or overly busy. Perfect under dialog. Perhaps someone is being followed, without their knowledge. Things are quiet now, but conflict looms ahead. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 87 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 menace lurks in the shadows, slowly creeping towards it's victim. OR: Someone enters a house, to make a gruesome discovery... Full orchestra with synth horror atmospherics. Ends with a big bang! [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 55 BPM]
The clock is ticking, it's the moment of truth! Great for any scene that needs to convey a sense of urgency, and tension. Orchestra and choir, builds to a big ending. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 830 BPM]
Suitable for modern thrillers, this track features atmospheric and tense layers, orchestra, drums and synth. The tension mounts, with the drama intensifying towards the climactic ending. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 84 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]
Mixing orchestral and hip hop elements, this pensive, tense and nervous underscore is the good track for challenge, mystery, thriller, police, stakeout, international conspiracies, countdown, pressure situations. Also good for things like CSI, NCIS, forensics, investigation, looking for clues. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 116 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]
A dark, brooding underscore for mystery and tension. Sci-fi / Futuristic; can also be desert / wasteland, abandoned warehouse or other location. Doom laden, cold, desolate. Threatening / uneasy. There is also a "No Drums" version which works well as a dark ambient background track. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 90 BPM]
Layers of synth, strings, and light, echoey vocals create a ghastly mood of foreboding in this ambient track, which ends suddenly and sharply with a shocking, big hit. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
Sneaky, suspicious, ambient track with a sense of future, sci-fi, space. Could be good for a scene of exploring a dangerous place, abandoned spaceship or warehouse, strange alien planet, etc. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 47 BPM]
A tense, ominous, brooding underscore for action, thriller, sci-fi and more. Pounding percussion, dark pads and sweeps. Urgency / Danger. Also available in a version without the drums, which represents a more sneaky / dark ambient feel. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 120 BPM]
A dark, pulsing tension piece. Orchestra mingling with electronic loops and huge drums support a possible military/espionage narrative or just as easily, a dark hero's charge into the inevitable. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 94 BPM]
An energetic orchestral track with driving drums, percussion, and synths, for a thriller, reality show, or action or horror film. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 138 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 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]
A tension building track great for action and adventure scenes or reality game show programming. Features unique drum rhythms, a harmonic piano ostinato, synth motifs, and string riffs. [Tempo: Medium / 64 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]
An eerie piece with dark soundscapes and textures. Intense drums and orchestra are utilized in unconventional ways. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
A dramatic tension track that opens with rhythmic and melodic synth lines and builds with light percussion, piano, strings, and brass motifs. Perfect for action and adventure scenes or reality game show programming. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 128 BPM]
Intense piano and strings are soon joined by heavy urban drums. For setting an ominous, serious mood. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 84 BPM]
Energetic percussion opens the track, soon replaced with an epic, heroic melody performed by orchestra and choir. Music grows in intensity. Final section soars with high stings and climaxes with a patriotic, militaristic heroic melody. [Tempo: Medium / 140 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]
Orchestra, piano, choir and drums suggest a foreboding realization. Ominous and haunting. [Tempo: Slow / 100 BPM]
The tension is high, preparations are place for the heist. All is going to plan but time is running out... will the robbers make it out in time before the authorities arrive? Orchestra, electric guitars, choir and synth. Music gets epic, trailer style with grinding processed guitars. For trailers, promos and action scenes (especially those involving a heist!). [Tempo: Fast / 148 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]
It's night time in a large modern city. An agent attempts to infiltrate a heavily secured hi tech facility. Starts small and gets huge towards the end. Soaring choir and orchestra along with interesting synth layers and drums. For modern suspenseful films and TV, and trailers and promos. [Tempo: Medium / 97 BPM]
Atmospheric horror. For dark, brooding scenes, especially sci fi. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
Thrilling chase feel, orchestral with electronic elements and guitars. Powerful, dark, busy, fast, tense and cold with a slight industrial edge. [Tempo: Fast / 132 BPM]