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.
Deep and brooding strings establish a mysterious atmosphere before climaxing and evolving into a powerful, confident theme statement. Rich strings and horns make for an epic feel. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 72 BPM]
An unsettling track. Oboe and prepared piano weave their way through dark foghorn stabs and unearthly choral textures. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 100 BPM]
Dark and pulsating, mystery or thriller underscore. Ominous, suspicious, with pulse bass alternating with bass guitar, and echoey percussion. Great tension track for use with police investigation, spy thriller, criminals / crime in progress, break-in, stake-out, clandestine mission, etc. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 76 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]
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 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]
Neo-classical music for film, videos, cinematic storytelling and other media. Uneasy / Urgent / Danger building. Orchestra with piano, a timeless classic movie sound. Great for film noir, mysteries, jealousy, crime drama etc. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 132 BPM]
Tension-filled background music for thriller, suspense and tension. Pulsating synths with percussion. Great for police operation, swat team, crime in progress, stakeout, spy / undercover and more. Besides the main track, this piece also comes as several seamless loops which can be used in combination with each other to 'build' the soundtrack needed for a scene, in a modular way. Simply place the different loops on the timeline, in a way that matches your on-screen action, or blend, combine, crop and join the loop pieces to create your own 'version' of the track. [Tempo: Medium / 100 BPM]
Powerful and intense, this track is perfect for a ritualistic scene. Strings accompanied by hissing chanting chaotic choirs. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 90 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]
Dark and ominously hybrid tension music with electronica elements, pulsating rhythm, deep, impactful taiko percussion, and ambient pads. Suitable for suspenseful film scenes, thriller documentaries, and crime investigation podcasts. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 100 BPM]
A staccato and arpeggio driven track by the cello. High, dense leads with the violin to push for a dramatic tense and dry sound. Minimal, constant and evolving. Raw, edgy, neo-classical. Tense and disturbing. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 70 BPM]
Orchestral action piece with huge brass and drums implying suspense and building tension. Think espionage-laden chase. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 90 BPM]
An atmospheric dramatic track that begins with light piano and synths and expands with the addition of strings, electric guitar, and heavy drums. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 64 BPM]
A sharp hit begins this brooding, sinister horror track, which features suspenseful, ambient synth swells and atmospheric string effects. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 55 BPM]
A mysterious cloud of sounds made up of guitar effects and synths creates a sense of subtle uneasiness. About halfway in, the action intensifies with big drums ushering in a sense of urgency. The music later dissolves to the same sense of mystery it started with. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 95 BPM]
This track starts with a strong sense of mystery and tension, like there’s a real danger lurking. Huge action drums come in later, bringing the track to a huge conclusion. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 112 BPM]
Ominous and tense. Orchestra, drums and haunting textures build suspense throughout. [Tempo: Medium / 156 BPM]
Edgy rocky, heavy ambient industrial. Sort of ambient electronic at the beginning. Kicks off towards the end of track with a build up. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 105 BPM]
Edgy ambient/rock, heavy, dark, industrial. Sort of ambient electronic at the beginning. Kicks off towards the end of track with a build up. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 105 BPM]
Electric track with drone type of sound. Dark / Sci-fi etc. [Tempo: Medium / 120 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]
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]
Dark synths create a fearful, brooding atmosphere for this ambient track, while quiet, slow paced percussion rhythms keep it moving. For horror or Halloween films. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 55 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]
Intense drama themed piece that uses driving percussion and urgent strings to full effect. It relentlessly builds to a dramatic conclusion.
[Tempo: Medium, Fast / 130 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]
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: Slow, Medium / 97 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]
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]
A darkly epic and menacing atmosphere built by low pitched cellos, distorted, mechanical drum beats, stabbing brass and spacious electronics. Conflict, chase, thriller, sci-fi. [Tempo: Fast / 150 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, piano, choir and drums suggest a foreboding realization. Ominous and haunting. [Tempo: Slow / 100 BPM]
A red sun rises on a desolate, war torn city in the middle east. A soldier looks out over the smoke clouds and wonders if the end justifies the means. Epic in scope, yet full of space, would be perfect for travel documentaries requiring a moody atmosphere. Also great for understated, brooding trailers and promos. Orchestra, ethnic instruments (duduk), large percussion and atmospheric pads. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 83 BPM]
Dark ambient, Horror underscore. Mysterious / Suspicious / Ominous. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 80 BPM]
Dark pulse. Evil / Malevolent. Sneaky / Suspicious. Horror / Gothic underscore. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 90 BPM]
Dark ambient, Horror underscore. Dizzy / Sickly / Uneasy. Rhythmic pulse. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 65 BPM]
Dark ambient, Horror underscore. Mysterious / Suspicious / Ominous / Sickly. Dark sound design. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 75 BPM]
Dark and disturbing, horror underscore. Dark sound design with twitchy musical elements. Sickly / Confused / In disarray. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 90 BPM]
A mysterious suspense music track, with piano and strings and a more rhythmical second part. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 100 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 tense atmosphere with lots of percussion, space and crescendo with synths and drones [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 90 BPM]
Tense beginning with a sense of preparations close to a big event, like a sports game, battle or major test. Orchestra and drums start out with a punchy, energetic melody. About halfway through the rhythmic energy dissipates and a heroic melody soars. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 85 BPM]
This track was made in electronic style with a slightly oriental atmosphere. Pulsating synth and arpeggiators, Arabian percussion, strings. Will work well as a main theme for the movie in action style about Middle East and Oriental countries. Tense, slightly pensive, dynamic. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 120 BPM]
Soundtrack / Sci-fi / Space / Fantasy. Understated and a little ominous, this track evokes a subtle sense of being threatened. Could work in dystopian settings or scenes involving suspense or danger. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 110 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]
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, Fast / 85 BPM]
Heavy pounding drum driven big orchestral sound. Hectic very fast powerful driving solid dramatic adventure with uplifting high energy. Energizing, pulsating, production music. Bold dramatic and tense chase scene, crime in progress, bank heist, dynamic racing and action scenes. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 118 BPM]
Nervous action / thriller underscore. Stakeout, movement, urgency, ticking bomb. This track has a strong and tense nerve, as if everything is going to blow at any second. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 131 BPM]