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.
Dramatic rising cinematic track driven by powerful percussion. The track begins calmly and builds to a powerful conclusion. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 70 BPM]
Calm intro section into Powerful and edgy, massive electro track. Power / Sci-fi / Future. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 135 BPM]
Majestic and dark, this fantasy inspired passage canters towards wavering violins at 00:41. [Tempo: Very fast / 110 BPM]
Tense combination of sound designer sounds with ambient synth textures and a hard hitting techno backdrop. Action, drama, dramatic, chase, crime, police, battle, war, futuristic action and suspense. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 116 BPM]
Ominous thriller underscore. Piano theme joined by slowly rising strings and a low level rhythmic pulse. Subtle but serious -- suitable for political drama or thriller, law, action, crime or mystery. A sense of tragedy or serious consequences. [Tempo: Medium / 94 BPM]
A dark, tense and urgent music track with synths and orchestra. Dramatic and powerful music mood, with an apocalyptic edge. [Tempo: Fast / 140 BPM]
A suspenseful action trailer music track featuring deep and growling synths combined with pulsation motion and orchestra. Hurried feel with 7/8 time signature. Suitable music for epic content, trailers and blockbuster videos. [Tempo: Fast / 0 BPM]
A good track for for both "Slow" and "Speed Motion" action trailer, this track is somewhat Epic with huge percussion. High energy and slow build-up. Good for trailers with a big Hollywood sound, suspense, drama, battles, and video game music. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 73 BPM]
Dark and sombre background music based on strings and piano. Very cinematic piece suitable for any dark, ominous drama or fiction. [Tempo: Slow / 0 BPM]
An orchestral track with a conflicting dark vs light approach. Very awe inspiring, regal / triumphant, but with a dark side. Perhaps the rise of an awesome army, a dark sorcerer or a hiding a terrible secret. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 0 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]An orchestral / Cinematic cue with a growing, increasing intensity throughout. Suitable for a scene that starts off suspiciously or tentatively, then activity increases and finally all is revealed. Good for adventure, fantasy, family movies, magic and mischief, exploration and more. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 70 BPM]
Minimal piano leads into an ominous, dark, heroic orchestral music theme. Tension / Dystopia / Edgy music. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 150 BPM]
A weird and quirky track with ambient and tribal/ethnic influences. Slight jungle / tribe feel, mixed with cutting-edge, minimalistic urban and mechanical, even futuristic styles. A slapped bass groove, various textural and experimental sounds and swirley pads. [Tempo: Medium / 97 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]
Battle drums. Pounding percussion. A combination of orchestral percussion and ethnic / tribal drums. Suitable for battle, fight, chase, brawls and action scenes. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 68 BPM]
An unsettling and nervous film or television underscore cue. A repetitive rhythm gives the piece a pensive feel and the uneasy drones and pads brings a sense of terrible realization or an unfolding mystery. Great for crime investigation, horror, dark drama, documentary and more. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 91 BPM]
Very dark, pulsating music track, with a touch of dystopia and futuristic, warlike atmosphere. Slowing rising, building... [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 95 BPM]
Electronic drone underscore with futuristic undertones. Intrigue feel, with military snare, unique rhythms. Feature Nord Lead Synth. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
Begins with fast paced electro/rock underscore. Distorted guitars and sounds design are prevalent throughout. At mid-point, the entire orchestra joins in with a trailer-esque choir which builds to a final crescendo with brass stabs for impact. [Tempo: Fast / 150 BPM]
Full orchestra with piano and acoustic guitar build the tension gradually throughout. Subtle at first, about halfway through the tension goes up with low brass stabs. Perhaps someone suspects they are being followed, and their anxiety and dread grows. At the end, when they look back to see if the menace is still there, they see nothing. Was it all a dream, all in their head? [Tempo: Slow / 69 BPM]
Begins with a hypnotic synth bass hook and drum hook. As electric piano comes in, it slowly builds and eventually flowers into a lovely mellow pop chorus. Once the beat gets to you, it is mesmerizing. [Tempo: Medium / 160 BPM]
Low, propulsive, massive bass. Toxic, overdriven percussion. Disturbing main motif on the piano. A sense of sadness, suspension, perpetual tension. Disturbing / Suspenseful / Emotional. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 100 BPM]
Typical news broadcast type music with synthetic and orchestral elements blended into a pulsating, serious sounding music bed. Great music for Latest News / Breaking News type productions. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Medium / 116 BPM]
A dark and determined, forceful and methodical, orchestral march. Relentlessly marching on, an awesome force. Dark / Foreboding / Relentless / Doom-laden / Forceful. [Tempo: Medium / 95 BPM]
Horror Mystery Soundtrack. Creepy / Presence / Disturbing / Unrestful / Turmoil. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
Dark, pounding, tension / action music track. Hybrid electronic / orchestral arrangement, gritty and edgy. Malevolent, Apocalyptic music. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 80 BPM]
Dark and disturbing, horror underscore. Dark sound design with twitchy musical elements. Sickly / Confused / In disarray. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 90 BPM]
Inspired by 1980's sci-fi and horror films, revived today by TV series about things that are strange. An ominous blend of synthesizers and orchestral tones, with a repetitive, tense motif. Tension / Suspense / Dark Music. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 84 BPM]
A moving, liquid, driving underscore, hybrid, combining electronic and orchestral elements. String and piano leads with percussion and synthesizer elements. Futuristic and organic feel. Tense, ominous. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
Ancient and mysterious soundscape with tribal influences, indian and South American flutes. Great for history documentaries and specials. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
Suspense soaked riff rocker which uses simple berimbau lines, clean atmospheric guitars and great big dirty guitars. Great repeated build and release. The last time has a soaring lead guitar solo. In parts, slightly reminiscent of Failure and even Nirvana. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 92 BPM]
A glimpse into the twisted mental circuits of an alien robot killer on the prowl. Synth pads, noises and basslines overlay an edgy drum groove to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand-up. In space no one can hear you beg for mercy. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 130 BPM]
A dark and suspenseful cinematic track, starting slowly, with a simple piano melody. It evolves into a huge orchestral and powerful track, with loud and big horn section. Atmospheric, eerie and with a simmering tension. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 145 BPM]
Foreboding and eerie, dark and mystical, ambient track with an Ethnic / World mystery feel. Wailing ethnic vocal with tribal percussion joining in later. Edgy and musky. Threatening, dark tribe - perhaps vikings, indigenous tribe or tribal warriors. [Tempo: Medium / 117 BPM]
A dark and poignant underscore for film / drama. Gloomy, but with hints of hope. Touching, personal and introspective. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
World orchestral track with a very sensual melody and a driving groove. Features ethnic percussion with string orchestra and bamboo flute and a very Middle Eastern flavor. [Tempo: Medium / 92 BPM]
Light suspenseful tension track suitable for reality television results shows like American Idol and Dancing with the Stars, to keep your audience anxious. Low brooding bass, morphing synths, emphatic strings, and escalating percussion all work to create an intense edge-of-your-seat atmosphere. [Tempo: Fast / 144 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]
Dramatic accented strings, heavy percussion, blasting brass and pulsating synths give this track a dramatic, epic and futuristic vibe. Intended for epic promos, video games, sports, trailer and dramatic radio cues. Also ideal for breaking news, tragedy, turmoil, tension and struggle in reality TV shows like Celebrity Apprentice, The Ultimate Fighter, Survivor, Fear Factor and The Bachelor. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
15 minutes continuous, uninterrupted background music track for video productions and other media. Mystical, eerie, cold and pulsating soundtrack for Scifi or Mystery. Brooding music, pensive and awe inducing. Creates a feeling of unknown tension, and a vast space. [Tempo: Slow / 120 BPM]
Horror Mystery Soundtrack. Sickly / Underworld / Twisted Voices / Plague / Cold. [Tempo: Slow / 0 BPM]
There’s a difference between terror and horror. This track is a sonic tale of the inner workings of a demonic serial killer as he/she confesses their brutal crime. It’s a slow buildup of organic string lines and atmospheric tension stretched across two minutes of anxiety and creepiness until the explosive ending. [Tempo: Slow / 60 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]
Tense orchestral track that starts ominously, suggesting something evil is lurking then suddenly it grabs you. Powerful and bone chilling perfect for horror, nature documentaries and Jaws sound-alikes. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 67 BPM]
Pulsing energetic percussive beat, dark and solemn , threatening, tense, and powerful, perfect for a war action scene. [Tempo: Medium / 83 BPM]
Influenced by the Breaking Bad soundtrack, dark, ambient, exotic and a touch quirky featuring resonator guitar, percussion, strings and fx. Drawing elements from south west america, world music and cinematic effects this is great for tv and film drama scores and themes, documentaries and travel. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 85 BPM]
A Percussion Only track, with marching snares, military march. Occasional big drum strikes. Useful as music for scenes of war, war preparation, battle preparations, etc. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 100 BPM]
A dark and edgy track with deep ambiance and big percussion. The track opens with a very ambient and wide open sound, distant effects and chimes add to the mood of the track. Deep bass and powerful drum hits add a great bit of power to the track. Acid synthline is full of energy and edgy drums combine into a great mix of electronic and cinematic sound. A versatile track that can be used anywhere from videogame to dark horror film, sci-fi, crime, etc. [Tempo: Medium / 125 BPM]
A foreboding and tension-building music track combining Cinematic and Electronic elements, using a blend of synths and symphonic sounds combined. Suitable for mystery and dramatic scenes. Awe / Amazement / Mystery / Drama / Darkness Music. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 80 BPM]