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.
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]
Dramatic and Escalating Cinematic Action track featuring orchestral strings, percussion, synth pads and sound effects. Great for trailers, films in action and drama genres, Police / Investigation TV series and more. [Tempo: Medium / 90 BPM]
A pensive, tense, ominous orchestral track with an an undercurrent of conflict, suspicion, malevolence. Like two enemies stalking each other, measuring each other up for a fight. Also good as a general film score cue for tense moments, time running out, perhaps manhunt, etc. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 130 BPM]
Spacious, cinematic, beautiful, ethereal, dramatic & magical music using plucked strings, choir, synth & percussion to create an dreamy, edgy, nervous soundscape with sinister, brooding & haunting overtones. Thoughtful, atmospheric, climactic & sometimes a little scary. Come out from behind the sofa. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 110 BPM]
A throwback to classic role playing games, the orchestra evokes a dark dungeon with unknown dangers lurking around every corner. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 123 BPM]
A modern sounding trailer style epic dramatic action music track, blending glitchy style digital synths and electronic drum loops with traditional orchestral scoring parts. Great for big blockbuster action films, sci fi, adventure and trailers. [Tempo: Medium / 105 BPM]
A tense, dark battle between 2 opposing sides, fighting till the end. Strong use of strings with a mixture of synthesis to give the track a technical edge. Dynamic conclusion of epic instrumentation and frantic drums to bring the track to the end. [Tempo: Slow / 120 BPM]
An epic, rising track. Suspenseful, with deep bass, risers, whooshes and ominous strings. This track has a serious, foreboding feel and a powerful orchestral + percussion sound, with some hybrid / digital elements too. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 90 BPM]
Electronic underscore with large percussion, warm synth tones, buzzy synth appregios and complex Moog undertones. Sports, Crime, Automotive. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
Electronic underscore with warm piano, spacey synthesizer and lush pads. Explorer, keep moving forward feel. Mystical, eerie. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
A dark, dramatic, and rousing orchestral music track with a feel of war or conflict. The dark, gloomy and determined character of this track will give your project an epic, tense feel. Angry / Doom / Epic Music. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
A dark, mysterious track with an unusual instrumention of a jazz group. Classic, old school Horror type cue. The Zodiac Killer would probably listen to this as he stalked his next victim. [Tempo: Slow / 110 BPM]
A dark and forceful cue, for dangerous and threatening situations. Pounding percussion gives this track a sense of urgency and stress. Dangerous / Critical / Fight. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 116 BPM]
A dark and tension building cue, with a sense of urgency and imminent danger. Like a stalker on the trail of his prey. [Tempo: Medium / 101 BPM]
A tense and uneasy soundtrack cue for a dangerous situation. Dark, ominous, threatening, foreboding. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 80 BPM]
A brooding, ominous and dark soundtrack for mystery, thriller or drama. Foreboding / Tense / Threatening. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 65 BPM]
Suspenseful, tense, cinematic muisc track. Uneasy nerve, danger on the horizon. Ominous / Foreboding. This track features a full stop and re-start at around 1 minute which can be useful in editing the music to your content, for dramatic effect. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 55 BPM]
Action, dramatic and epic track made with percussion, orchestra and more. Great for creating tension and a dramatic atmosphere in your project. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 70 BPM]
A dark and cinematic orchestral piece. Driving percussion tracks combine with darkly harmonized strings and an Indian vocal flair to create a sense of tension and urgency. [Tempo: Slow / 75 BPM]
A dark, industrial and heavily percussive piece with elements of dubstep. [Tempo: Slow / 65 BPM]
High-intensity, electronic film trailer music, with strong, unrelenting bass and drum tracks and an ever-building array of orchestral instruments. The grand instrumentation and driving energy provide a clear sense of urgency that climbs until the very final moments of the piece. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 90 BPM]
Edgy electronic underscore, with a feeling of urgency and danger. Complex and intricate but un-intrusive. [Tempo: Medium / 130 BPM]
Filmic and reflective electro underscore, with cool retro synths and warm subs. Romanic and with a hint of melancholy. [Tempo: Slow / 85 BPM]
Urgent and dramatic electro underscore. Powerful yet unobtrusive. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
An orchestral, ambient piece with dark harmonies and a sense of ominous tension. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
Richly harmonized strings combine with dark brass undertones to create a cinematic vibe in this dramatic orchestral piece. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
A tense and simmering action / danger track with a combination of orchestral and electronic elements. Dangerous, Mysterious, Tension. Can be a great soundtrack for dangerous missions, tense operations, spy and undercover agents, simmering danger or conflict, crime, or undercover operationns. An element of Hip-Hop / Trap drums is added towards the end to give it a slightly urban edge. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Medium / 99 BPM]
A stirring and uneasy, urgent feeling, underscore for film/drama. Tension / Unease / Urgency / Foreboding. Great for things like a courtroom drama or perhaps police, detective work, crime in progress, etc. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 70 BPM]
Cinematic Battle music / Fight music. Rhythmic, pounding, marching piece with orchestra, big percussion and occasional choir. Dramatic / Fantasy / Determined / Dark. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Medium / 154 BPM]
A cinematic and classical music composition with a chamber orchestra arrangement, this stormy and mysterious track has the sound of a classic mystery. Riveting and turbulent, raw strings pull us through a dramatic 2 minutes of tension and turmoil. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 140 BPM]
A dynamic and evolving orchestral track. Full of twists and turns - darkness and danger turns to light and enchantment. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
A low string ostinato in Baroque style builds into a strong climax featuring bells and French horn. The track’s second half is a slow crescendo of gentle piano and rising string harmonics, climaxing in low octaves in the piano. Very dramatic. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 116 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]
Building from an uneasy atmosphere into complete Bedlam with a variety of orchestral passages, stabs and flourishes. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 114 BPM]
A dramatic, cinematic track with raw strings in neoclassical style, with hard orchestral percussion and dark piano, and a subtle 'ticking clock' effect that gives the track a sense of urgency. Tension-filled and dramatic music suitable for period drama, realistic thriller, horror, dramatic discoveries, dark secrets, uncovering raw truths, tension and grit. Also available without the drums and without the clock effect. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 110 BPM]
A mysterious cinematic thrill ride with tense edgy percussion, strings, harp, brass, pizzicato. Good for reality television, trailers, action, adventure, advertisements, and any production needing relentless heart pounding excitement. [Tempo: Fast / 121 BPM]
Pulsating low bass, rhythmic low percussion toms. Merging the aesthetics of tension with trailer music elements. Conveys a sense of threat, uncertainty, and horror. Suitable for dystopian sci-fi, action thrillers, crime dramas, spy / undercover agent, military operations or horror movie trailers. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Medium / 100 BPM]
Deep, ominous and distorted opening into hard-hitting orchestral and electronic impacts. Violent. Epic / Action / Trailer Music. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 120 BPM]
A pensive, pulsating and tense track for action & adventure. Orchestral with synth elements, a dark edge, but also somewhat restrained and brooding. [Tempo: Medium / 93 BPM]
A strong, confident and dark heroic military theme with percussion, synth, guitar and powerful brass. Slow paced, proud, patriotic and powerful yet slightly sad and emotional giving a feeling of loss or death. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 65 BPM]
Electronic drone underscore with futuristic undertones. Intrigue feel, with military snare, unique rhythms. Feature Nord Lead Synth. [Tempo: Medium / 120 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]
Dramatic and mystical film score/soundtrack made with orchestra and synths. Spy / Mystery / Crime / Action Music. [Tempo: Medium / 100 BPM]
String quintet developing a dramatic theme, suited for dramatic series involving psycological or criminal content. Timeless, with a classic / classical influence music. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 160 BPM]
Intense, pulsating blockbuster track featuring synths and electronica combined with powerful, epic orchestral music. Suitable for scenes that need powerful background music. [Tempo: Medium / 95 BPM]
A pulsating tension track for thrillers and mysteries. The track gradually builds up intensity throughout. Psychological thriller, conspiracies, international conflict, dangers lurking. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Medium / 90 BPM]
A dark, ambient track that showcases atmospheric synths and a short but intense percussion build at the end. For horror films or thrillers. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 67 BPM]
Tension and mystery track that keeps growing and building, growing ever more intense as the slow crescendo approaches a dark and edgy finish. Music for a dark intruder, psychological thriller, or a dangerous mystery. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 70 BPM]