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 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. This dark and ominous track suggests that there is danger around the corner. Could work in scenes involving exploration or tension. The climax in the middle could be used to denote some type of discovery. [Tempo: Slow / 103 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]
Atmospheric and orchestral score suggests big open spaces, great adventures, new frontiers to conquer. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
Dark, gloomy, sinister underscore for film, TV, games, thriller, chiller, horror, etc. Darkly sparkling. Suspenseful, few notes, somewhat experimental, ambient soundscapes. [Tempo: Very slow, Medium, Fast / 122 BPM]
An intensely ominous electronic/orchestral soundscape supports a brooding, haunting theme; overwhelmed with darkness and fear, this track is destined for moody scenes of terror and horror in contemporary cinema... For underscore and build-up. Instrumental, Dangerous Music, Dark Music. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
Deep percussions and synths build a dark and intense atmosphere with a sense of suspense and drama. Great track for underscore dramatic situations. An amazing fusion of distorted guotar lines , percussions and strings. [Tempo: Slow, Fast, Very fast / 140 BPM]
A hybrid orchestral track with special effects, big pounding percussion, orchestra and choir. Rousing, aggressive, and majestic. Dark / Ominous / Tense. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 63 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]
A hybrid orchestral / electronic track with a strong sense of amazement and drama. Dark, but also soaring, this track has a Sci-fi / Future feel, but also an almost primal edge to it. Good for Scifi / Fantasy / Action adventure. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 70 BPM]
A truly grand and epic track. Hybrid orchestral, with electronic percussion and electric guitar and a choir joining in later. A sense of high drama and epic journeys. Amazement / Heroic / Determined / Grand. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 125 BPM]
Electronica infused orchestral music. Tension build throughout the piece, ending with a big boom, but retaining a somewhat anticipative aura. Good for war preparation, rendezvous scenes and crime investigation and chase. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
Dark, moody, modern action track. Percussion based with electronic and rock elements. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 86 BPM]
An orchestral piece written for action and adventure sequences. It is full of drama, suspense, powerful drum hits, stabs, and melodic lines.
[Tempo: Medium, Fast / 130 BPM]A dark and ominous underscore with ambient guitar sounds. Mysterious and with a feeling of unbearable heat, or a dark, damp place. Think Breaking Bad, Banshee or other modern western, or doom laden TV / Film music. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 90 BPM]
An ominous, dark and dramatic, orchestral / cinematic piece. Foreboding strings build up towards a change at about 30 seconds, into a more dramatic section with choir and big drums. Epic, dark, almost ritualistic. [Tempo: Slow / 95 BPM]
A rhythmic, dark, orchestral track of amazement and tension. Similar to the style/sound of Hans Zimmer music, this cinematic piece has a strong sense of nerve and drama.
[Tempo: Medium / 100 BPM]A twisted and dark piece. Strange electronic murmurs and blips introduce a dramatic tremeloed string section. As the track progresses more layers of string harmonies enter adding to the growing suspense. Slowly the piece unfolds and builds towards the tense end .The mood has an element of cold calculated ruthlessness and unfolding mystery. Contains orchestra , synths and piano. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
A soundtrack for mystery and intrigue. Uneasy stirrings. Suspicion, underlying tension. An elegant mystery theme in classic TV/film style. [Tempo: Medium / 92 BPM]
A brooding bassline fuses with a simmering wash of atmospheric sounds. [Tempo: Medium / 180 BPM]
A pensive and mystical, semi-orchestral music track with staccato strings and a sense of tension building. Dramatic / Thriller / Crime Music. [Tempo: Medium / 80 BPM]
A dark, unsettling cinematic backdrop. Uneasy / Gloomy / Mysterious. [Tempo: Slow / 94 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]
Modern rock tune featuring a bass guitar riff and sparse synths with a serious attitude. Dark and mysterious. This track almost has an eerie feel with an infectious groove. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 86 BPM]
Inspired by film maker and composer John Carpenter, this is a homage to his masterpiece The Thing, starring Kurt Russell. Ominous blend of synthesizers and orchestral horns, with a repetitive tense motif. [Tempo: Slow / 93 BPM]
Action oriented hybrid orchestral track, with a lot of metallic percussion and powerful blasts. Starts off with distorted electronic percussion and mystery strings, then develops into a powerful tense motif. Good for spy, military, invasion and high octane action. [Tempo: Medium / 110 BPM]
A stormful, staccato, orchestral / cinematic piece for drama, tv, documentaries, period drama, nature and more. Urgent, active, dramatic, turmoil. [Tempo: Fast / 180 BPM]
Action thriller track made with synths, effects, orchestra and percussion. Atmosphere, tension, suspense and action - with a modern or futuristic feel. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 90 BPM]
A contemporary, cinematic music track with an intriguing and captivating vibe. Featuring piano, strings, glockenspiel, atmospheric pads and orchestral percussion. Great for dynamic action scenes in films, TV and documentaries. [Tempo: Medium / 125 BPM]
A big epic and dynamic edgy action music for movie trailers, or dramatic action films. Hard hitting orchestral lines fuse with modern digital technology in a great piece of Hybrid powerful action music! [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 148 BPM]
A short track that tells of darkness and sadness. [Tempo: Medium / 90 BPM]
Dark, brooding, foreboding & cinematic rock track. A tense, dramatic intro leads to monster riffs and driven drum beats, powering forward with a great sense of sinister, evil energy. Would suit thriller/horror/halloween type projects. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 146 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: Medium / 100 BPM]
Historical, Barry Lyndon type, civil war music. Would fit a 19th century war / historical feature. Classical war march genre of orchestration, using snare drum roll, piccolo flutes, clarinets, Bass drums, French and English horn. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 110 BPM]
Sneaky, slow, somewhat dark "spy funk" track with electro / dub influences and occasional lead guitar lines. Good for Crime in Progress, Spy / Agent, Secret Mission, undercover police operation, forensic investigations etc. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 130 BPM]
An upbeat action thriller track with a modern Filmcue vibe: Suspenseful pending build up. Rich in cinematic texture. Great for various cinematic use, ominous background, action suspense segments etc. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 120 BPM]
A rather intense mix of orchestral and electronic music. It's progressive construction makes it a pretty good fit to any story based energetic montage. [Tempo: Medium / 88 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]
Ambient, semi-orchestral track with suspended strings and deep percussion hits. This tense music cue has a sense of historic drama, lurking danger, impending tragedy, conflict and betrayal as war plots being brewed. Highly suitable as a soundtrack for historical documentary, drama, as medieval/fantasy material, be it films, fantasy games, TV specials or other installations. Easy loopable and editable. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
Not for the faint-hearted! Menacing Score track with powerful drums and diverse aggressive, distorted sounds. Evil, scary and very dark. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 120 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 / 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 / 120 BPM]
Dark, aggressive Score track with hard, distorted e-guitars, synths and metallic industrial drumsounds. Energetic and menacing. Good for action and suspense. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 120 BPM]
A lonely music box melody builds to a full orchestra before ending as it begins. Dark, tense and climactic but not too scary, family oriented horror. Good for trailers, video games, cartoons, halloween, quirky Tim Burton type films and even commercials. [Tempo: Slow / 70 BPM]