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.
Dark and cinematic cue with a reflective beginning and builds to a tense and emotional climax. Starting with simple piano before strings and horns slowly creep in. Great for movies and documentaries. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
Dark and haunting Piano plays over some eerie and ambient sound effects. Creates the mood for tense and scary scenes in movies and halloween projects. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 58 BPM]
Dark sinister & brooding soundscape that will have you locking all your doors & windows! Synth fx, horror percussion fx and ominous choir drones combine to make haunting, tense music suitable for horror / hallowen / ghost / thriller type projects. Don't look behind you!... [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 74 BPM]
An orchestral piece, a rather dark one. This composition builds up a tension and an uncomfortable feeling. It's thrilling and suspicious, this song makes a good suspense conductor without specially having any particular ending at the end, this could end well, or bad. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 89 BPM]
Ambient, dark, slightly tense with low piano notes, light percussion, synth choir and fx. Good for eliminations on reality shows, tv and film dramas, crime, horrors, mysteries, thrillers and documentaries. [Tempo: Slow / 64 BPM]
This piece is suitable for killer clowns, zombies, possessed dolls, etc. An eerie piece with a deep terrorizing bass line; highlights the squeaky nature of the Oboe and the sentimental vibrato of the trumpet to create an ironic atmosphere of horror with a slight comedic feel. [Tempo: Slow / 70 BPM]
These dark horror cues can be classed either as "music cues" or "sound effects", as in reality they function as both. They are all recorded with a large, live symphony orchestra with the same quality as any soundtrack from big budget movies. The effects are easy to loop and edit, and can be tailored to fit any cue, as they can be used from virtually any point. Consider them a construction kit to score horror, mystery and dark drama. Recorded, mastered, and delivered to you in pristine 24-bit audio. Also look for YS Horror Cues 21-40 and YS Horror Cues 41-60. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow, Medium / 0 BPM]
These dark horror cues can be classed either as "music cues" or "sound effects", as in reality they function as both. They are all recorded with a large, live symphony orchestra with the same quality as any soundtrack from big budget movies. The effects are easy to loop and edit, and can be tailored to fit any cue, as they can be used from virtually any point. Consider them a construction kit to score horror, mystery and dark drama. Recorded, mastered, and delivered to you in pristine 24-bit audio. Also look for YS Horror Cues 01-20 and YS Horror Cues 41-60. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow, Medium / 0 BPM]
Heavy foreboding percussion signals something big is coming. Deep brass drones and strings providing the tension. Distant choir add to the emotion of uneasiness. [Tempo: Slow / 100 BPM]
A dark solo piano piece that has an underlying feeling of menace, danger and horror. Piano sounds like a beating heart at the end as the suspense grows but resolves. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 0 BPM]
Useful for animation and short animated story. To show the character or main hero who looks out and trys to find enemies or bad guys lurking somewhere out. Mysterious and enigmatic, with percusive ethnic instruments, more agressive and dynamic in second part, preaparing for some kind of climax part which has will happen soon after... a battle or combat. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 88 BPM]
Music for a showdown at high noon. Begins tense and sparse, building in energy through several stages as the gunfighters size each other up, it finally ends with a climax as a gun fires and one of the men falls. [Tempo: Slow / 87 BPM]
A powerful mix of syncopated synths, dramatic, fast accented strings and breakdown beats. Ideal for reality TV cues when firing contestants as well as other dramatic cues such as Celebrity Apprentice, Survivor and Hell's Kitchen. Mob hits and urban chase scenes with bad guys on the move. [Tempo: Medium / 130 BPM]
Deep world percussion and fast strings, brass and huge drum accents. Good for heavy tension and struggle, dramatic reality TV cues such as Survivor, The Apprentice, Hell's Kitchen, Design Star and The Bachelor. [Tempo: Slow / 86 BPM]
A reality TV type tension track featuring bells, synths, and percussion. Builds throughout for a sense of forward motion while maintaining intensity. Think of any reality TV series where elimination rounds are involved. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 84 BPM]
This piece of electronic music is suitable for any scene of rushing or urgency within a hospital or medical facility. It could also be used for a chase scene within a hospital. Included in this track is the beeping and ticking sound of a typical heart and blood pressure monitor at bedside - which completes the tension felt when listening. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
A dark, percussive piece. Low, swelling strings and steady drums lead into an intense pulsing action cue. A hero's theme of determination. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 97 BPM]
A broody, dark, cinematic track with a slight military / operation feel. Barely audible lo-fi telecommunications over dark beds of mangled and distorted synth pads and guitars. Undercover operation, military or space / sci-fi material. Sneaky, suspicious and ominous. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 75 BPM]
Ominous and powerful theme music featuring distant trumpet, orchestral trumpet and strings creating an enticing atmosphere. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 104 BPM]
A tense and dark trailer-style track led by orchestra and synths while featuring electronic drums and driven guitars at points. Epic and powerful, with a clock-like pulse. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 120 BPM]
Inspired by classic role playing video games, the noble orchestra of this piece creates a heroic mood as its sets the stage for dark challenges in a dangerous dungeon. [Tempo: Slow / 65 BPM]
Mysterious electronic underscore, for moments of uncertainty and problem solving. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 85 BPM]
An intense orchestral piece. Dark and ominous choral sounds combine with heavy brass, strings, and percussion to create a dark and nerve wracking overall vibe. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 82 BPM]
Fantasy or sci-fi oriented, dark and ominous orchestral film score. Subtle, threatening pulses, growing in intensity. Foreboding, otherworldly, suspenseful. Impending doom or conflict. Reminescent of the Star Wars soundtrack. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 0 BPM]
A dark, orchestral suspense track made with epic orchestra and drums. Ominous, foreboding. [Tempo: Slow / 100 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]
A bone chilling, minimal score of sound design and heavily effected, droning instruments perfect for horror, crime and mystery. Very tense, serious and dark. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 100 BPM]
A dark and intense music track, slowly building from a quiet and suspense atmosphere. Evolves into a big, and powerful track loaded with orchestral and hybrid sounds, accompanied with choir. Epic / Sci-Fi / Future Music. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 75 BPM]
Horror Mystery Soundtrack. Creepy / Presence / Disturbing / Unrestful / Turmoil. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 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]
Industrial and pounding sound design with action beats. Edgy / Powerful / Mechanical Music. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 100 BPM]
A swing jazz band playing on top of a bed of scary string tremolos and SFX. A pause at 1:42. Afterwards, brass instruments return with some crazy noodling. Unsettling, a bit psychedelic, perhaps losing grip on reality. [Tempo: Medium / 115 BPM]
This horror underscore has hellish overtones and would be well suited for, horror, thriller, or fantasy footgae about paranormal and occult subject matter as well as video-games and trailers. Its' slow, slithery pace has suggests something evil lurking, and makes for a nice tension builder that features an intense, climactic riser. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
A pulsating synth and eerie melodies create a haunting, suspenseful atmosphere soon joined by synth bass and an electric guitar ostinato. Electronic and Acoustic drums and percussion help build a crescendo and reinforce the feeling of purposeful, unstoppable resolution. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 100 BPM]
Big, powerful and epic music track made with big orchestra, epic choir and drums. Two parts, ending with big hit, suitable for trailers. Dramatic / Epic / Orchestral Music. [Tempo: Medium / 150 BPM]
Orchestra and percussion accompany bassoon playing a very mysterious, almost seductive melody. Perhaps someone is making a deal with a shadowy character who has a dark and sinister plan. [Tempo: Slow / 67 BPM]
Neo-classical, film score, cinematic type soundtrack based on staccato strings, piano and bells. Determined, pensive, with an underlying energy, like a developing story, or piecing together clues and information. [Tempo: Medium / 128 BPM]
Horns and percussion build tension, joined by an urban beat and strings. Could be perfect for any kind of preparation for a sports game, college exam, or just to illustrate someone's determination and will to succeed. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 125 BPM]
Dark and moody atmosphere that develops towards a powerful and heroic theme, mixed with modern elements, guitars and drum loops. Not limited to just Western productions. Has a certain "swamp" feel. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 120 BPM]
This orchestral piece conveys the feeling of being swept away. The has a turbulent feel that lends it to working well in scenes of storms, tornados or general mayhem. [Tempo: Fast / 122 BPM]
A slowly rising, epic music track - developing into melodic anthem. Suspenseful, uplifting, orchestral. Amazement / Wonderment music. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 145 BPM]
A cold, tense, lonely and mysterious sounding track with sparse synth pads, white noise and a kick drum that represents a heart beating. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 50 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]
An intense and imposing orchestral cinematic score with a classic movie soundtrack style. Mystery and tension soon gives way to all-out dramatic action, with urgency, chaos and turmoil, with blaring horns, pounding orchestral drums and rapid, turbulent woodwinds. The final section of the track features a more heroic conclusion. This track is great if you're going for the sound of the golden age of action and drama movies. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 95 BPM]
- 01 Percussion
- 02 Double Bass
- 03 Intro Strings
- 04 Intro Cello Tremolo
- 05 Intro Strings Spiccato
- 06 Main Brass
- 07 Back Horns
- 08 Left Trumpet
- 09 Right Trumpet
- 10 Staccato Trumpet
- 11 Woodwinds
- 12 Woodwind Solo
- 13 Synth
- 14 End Piano
- 15 End Bass Horn
- 16 End Right Brass
- 17 End Staccato Horn Left
- 18 End Trumpet Staccato
- 19 End Strings
A dark, swirling combination of piano, pulsating strings, electric guitar and synth. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 111 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 tense and gritty electronic / industrial music track with a sense of danger and urgency. A dire situation, code red, time running out, impending chaos. Deliberately dirty, uneasy, stressed music. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 75 BPM]
This orchestral cinematic soundtrack has a sense of greatness and grandeur, but without going all out. Poignant and graceful, the track has a darkness, but is also filled with awe, amazement and wonderment. The track builds up to a climax around the 01:20 mark. Emotional, soaring, and with dignity and a timeless cinema sound. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 135 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 Percussion Only track, with big pounding drums in various more and less intense patterns. Useful for sound design, film scoring, games and more. [Tempo: Medium, Fast, Very fast / 150 BPM]