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 dramatic, driven piece. It starts with low strings and a driving drum beat. It grows into a powerful, epic conclusion, full of brassy horns and epic percussion. Perfect for a battle scene or an epic chase. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 120 BPM]
A mandolin and strings powered look into a dark and dirty world. The space created by the atmospheric music is reminiscent of films like Babel and Syriana. Tortured flute amplifies the tension; whatever is about to happen can't be good! [Tempo: Slow / 135 BPM]
Driving string ostinatos begin this tension filled track, featuring cool synth lines, ambient pads, piano, and grooving drum beats. Good for an adventurous reality game show or an action packed thriller. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 86 BPM]
A modern, pumped up and ready to rumble composition of big drums, guitars and electronics. Will work great in a UFC or WWF environment or pre-fight analysis. Will also work well in areas such as gaming, racing, competition, contact sports and even technology. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
Ambient / Electronica / Film score. Forward motion with Orchestral drum. Lingering. Pensive. Suspicious. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 100 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 / 90 BPM]
Cinematic Action music track great for crime and investigation programs, news, documentaries, also for films, TV series and action trailers evolving around Police, FBI and CIA. Featuring orchestral strings and woodwinds, synthesizers, keyboards and contemporary drum beat. [Tempo: Slow / 114 BPM]
Rhythmic synths open this tension building track, featuring pulsating bass and string motifs and drum grooves. A great action or thriller track with a mysterious mood. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 91 BPM]
Cinematic dramatic action track with deep and dark vibe and growing tension. Good for jungle and forest scenes, ambush in the battle, war and special military operations, spy films and videos. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 120 BPM]
Disturbing and dramatic piece uses all new sounds and textures. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 112 BPM]
Mysterious and exciting score track with a modern sound featuring piano, synths and strings. Good for mystery, thriller and suspenseful action movies. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 115 BPM]
A cinematic, pensive track that starts with a fragile piano motif, and then grows, increases, builds… into a crescendo. Available with our without big drums. Suspenseful. Good for dramatic scenes, imminent danger, approaching situation. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 100 BPM]
A somewhat dark, pensive and mysterious, neo-classical / film soundtrack styled piece. Elegant, but edgy. Dark stirrings / Malevolent / Grotesque. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 104 BPM]
A pulsating, percussive piece featuring Big Drums and haunting strings. . Perfect for a scene where somebody is walking alone in the woods, hunted by a killer, or for a Game of Thrones type scene where an army is chasing down a single man on a horse. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
Suspicious / Foreboding cinematic soundtrack. Perhaps a crime in progress, or dangerous situation. Tense, with Tom-Tom drums adding to the nerve. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 104 BPM]
A dark, somewhat gloomy, mystery soundtrack. Perhaps crime, criminals, crime investigation. Dystopian, with a sense of activity and danger. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 138 BPM]
A pensive, ominous and dark - but restrained, cinematic / orchestral piece. Hints of trouble on the horizon. Suitable for drama, crime, period drama, film/tv. [Tempo: Medium / 158 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]
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 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 mixture of electronic synths, percussion and strings are used to generate a sense of risk. The continuous pulsating guitar, heavy percussive hits, low piano notes and high string trills create an apprehensive mood, making this ideal for game shows with elimination rounds. [Tempo: Slow / 64 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]
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 dark suspense piece with a haunting quality. Tension builds amidst huge drums and orchestra with an abnormal sense of determination. [Tempo: Medium / 143 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]
A Percussion Only track, with marching snares, military march. Occasional big drum strikes. Useful for scenes of battle, chase, urgency, action. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Very fast / 95 BPM]
Strong, eerie trailer style horror / suspense royalty free stock music with insane and never ending risers to build huge tension both in the full piece and the cuts. Evil / Dark / Epic music. [Tempo: Slow / 96 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]
An epic and rousing track for sci-fi, adventure, epic scenes. Features actual live performed orchestral instruments in combination with samples. Strong, valiant feel, with a methodical, slow march rhythm. Amazement / Glory. Good for science fiction. Big orchestral sound with choir. [Tempo: Slow / 90 BPM]
A brooding, ominous and dark soundtrack for mystery, thriller or drama. Foreboding / Tense / Threatening. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 65 BPM]
An epic hybrid trailer track with larger than life hits. Huge bass stabs that are heavily distorted yet have warm analog quality. The track is reminiscent of Tron soundtrack with melodic synthesizer elements and huge orchestra accompaniment. This track is a must have for any epic movie or video game trailer. Dark and edgy.
[Tempo: Slow, Medium / 65 BPM]A conniving, dramatic string movement. It starts with a solo cello and viola, playing a static, offset melody. It grows into an epic, sneaky orchestral bombardment. It would work well as a period piece, or in a documentary. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 92 BPM]
A disturbing and horrific piece of music for use with horror, fright, terror and tension. Available in various different versions / mixes / lengths. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 150 BPM]
An evil, Far East / Oriental style 'bad guy' theme that moves slowly, but threateningly to create a sense of anxiety. The Erhu is backed by a deep chanting male choir, drums and tense strings. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
Powerful trailer style music track starting as a deep sub hit and pulsating bass engine. It slowly rises into a huge blockbuster track featuring big orchestra with determined string section, and wide horns and trombones. Suitable as music for action blockbusters and trailer videos. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 100 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: Slow, Medium / 150 BPM]
This track is is an action filled cue that works well for escalating fight scenes, action sequences and something requiring a cue that builds wiht intensity. It begins with overtones of Asia and the Middle East, reminiscent of a kung-fu, or ancient ruins etc, and escalates into a cinematic techno hybrid that is energetic and thrilling. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 101 BPM]