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.
An understated, darkly pensive, semi-orchestral, cinematic soundtrack with a sense of mystery, danger and ancient cultures. Great as a background for adventure, ethnic/world footage, mysterious worlds, dangerous journeys. [Tempo: Very slow / 0 BPM]
Sneaky, threatening, pensive, semi-orchestral rhythmic underscore. Use to illustrate danger, lurking enemies, suspicion and uneasy feeling, the sense of a threat hiding behind the next turn. Dangerous situation. Ominous, foreboding and sinister. Good for action-adventure, dramatic reality-TV, fantasy- or action games, spy thriller, police drama, and more. [Tempo: Medium / 90 BPM]
A tense musical sound texture combining percussive elements and dissonant orchestral sweeps. Suspenseful, intense, ominous. Conflict/Danger. Film soundtrack, game soundtrack or documentary / reality drama etc. [Tempo: Fast / 124 BPM]
A series of 4 pieces of textural, ambient, musical soundscapes. Suitable for documentary, cultural, history, archeology, travel and exploration, mystery and more. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
Expanding ambient, cosmic textures, futuristic layers, good for sci-fi, contact and discovery. [Tempo: Very slow / 119 BPM]
A very pensive underscore track, suitable for drama or thriller. Thoughtful, a sense of time passing, clues coming into place. Starts out with a simple piano and grows in intensity towards a frantic crescendo at about 01:15 before returning to the original, sparse theme once again. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 139 BPM]
A pair of brooding, dark, ominous pieces. Perhaps a dark sorcerer... Suitable for black magic, fantasy/sci-fi, visual presentations and more. Each one climaxes towards the end. [Tempo: Very slow / 94 BPM]
Tough to describe in words. A hypnotic dance throb runs through this fairly avante garde track as various synth leads come in and out. Very spacey and yet relentlessly trance inducing. Brings visions of an underground pumping, sweaty nightclub scenario to mind. [Tempo: Medium / 111 BPM]
Hip Hop styled theme to the urban underworld. Groovey beats combine with plucked strings, synth pads and leads to make a hypnotic and unnervingly atmospheric soundscape. Don't look behind you. [Tempo: Slow / 90 BPM]
Suspense-filled heavy guitar dance track. Meaty and angular beats combine with synth basslines, sequences and pads. Very filmic, slightly dark and full of tense energy. Contains synths, drum units and distorted guitars. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 110 BPM]
Use of Eastern percussion to bring across the clash of the titans on the battlefield, coming face to face with your adversary. Gearing for war, high impact, action, battle, fight, conquest, confrontation, combat. Recorder, shakers, dufflis, duff, dhol. [Tempo: Fast / 135 BPM]
World percussion, strings, low pianos, synth. A piece full of thrills. thriller, chiller, dangerous situation, hair raising, spine chilling, adventurous. Chase, urgent, stressed. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 135 BPM]
A rather dark and ominous amazement / drama track. Chanting choir, stabbing brass and percussion, a sinister undertone tells of perhaps religious rituals, cult, majestic uprising, dark magic or sacrifice, determined evil powers gathering. Dark history, mystery, mythology. Foreboding, threatening. [Tempo: Medium / 83 BPM]
A strong, powerful, menacing, epic filmscore track. Symphonic orchestra and choir mixed with techno/industrial elements to create a feel of futuristic or modern warfare, mechanoids, space battle, transformers fighting, brawling or stand-off. Suitable for future / sci-fi / metal and glass, fire and destruction, dramatic trailers, battle / chase / conflict / war scenes. Also available as a Rock Mix with added power guitars and rock drums, and as an alternative version without the choir. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 123 BPM]
Majestic and dark, this fantasy inspired passage canters towards wavering violins at 00:41. [Tempo: Very fast / 110 BPM]
Tensile, unearthly washes stretched over a deep sonic rumble. Ominous, discordant & menacing. Very uneasy, sneaky, mysterious, a little bit psychotic. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
A sense of impending doom builds from distant bells to sinister cellos, drums & a climax at 2:45. [Tempo: Slow / 85 BPM]
A staccato, ominous, aggressive march, perhaps portaying battle ready hordes going off to war. Fantasy and adventure, medieval or historical, conquering forces. [Tempo: Slow / 56 BPM]
Soft, slow and moody with a feeling of intrigue and mystery. Orchestral strings, catchy synth leads and distant synth pulses mix with a spacey trip-hop style rhythm section groove. Contains strings, synths, bass and drums. [Tempo: Slow / 70 BPM]
A dark, pensive and very tense film underscore track using staccato string section, unintelligible whispers, ethnic percussion. A very serious tone which sets the scene for crime, thriller, international conspiracies, terrorists, etc. [Tempo: Medium / 80 BPM]
Melodic, emotional film score music, highly suitable for drama, opening sequence or underscore during emotional, thoughtful scenes of sorrow or soul searching. Semi-orchestral, semi-electronic arrangement. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 93 BPM]
Ominous, epic royalty free soundtrack piece with an orchestral/electronic arrangement. Dark, foreboding, like dark tales from a city or sci-fi horror. Rich on texture and melody with a sense of foreboding and tension. [Tempo: Slow / 0 BPM]
Dark, eerie, mystical soundscapes, with a tribal, ethnic, jungle feel. Mystery / Suspense / Tension. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 0 BPM]
A dark, cinematic and dramatic piece. Inspired by film noir and classic horror stories, as well as newer dark and quirky films by Tim Burton or soundtrack work by Danny Elfman. A tasty slice of evil... Strings, oboe, piano, toy musical box... [Tempo: Slow / 64 BPM]
A very slow and dark, pounding rhythm. Resonant distorted guitar, monotonous bass line and slow pounding acoustic drums. Images of dirty machinery, dark future. [Tempo: Very slow / 53 BPM]
A quirky and odd production music track with naive bells and a slight 'medieval' touch of harpsichord. Like an old house with secrets, perhaps something that would go in a dark comedy, a Halloween related production or a haunted house music. [Tempo: Medium / 105 BPM]
A building and pounding action cue with driving percussion rhythms, orchestral energy, and big drums, underscoring anything from a heist getaway to a battle between man and machine. Very much in the vein of John Powell's "Bourne" movies and the scores of Hanz Zimmer and Steve Jablonsky ("Batman Begins" and "Transformers"). [Tempo: Fast / 75 BPM]
A darkly ambient, threatening and unnerving underscore. Suitable for tense and pensive drama scenes, reality show, documentary, dangerous situations, nervous undertow. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 103 BPM]
A pensive and mysterious underscore, suitable for crime investigation, dark drama or documentary. Nervous and with a sense of movement, ticking time, hidden clues waiting to be discovered. [Tempo: Medium / 80 BPM]
A foreboding and ominous film soundtrack underscore. Deep drums, atmospheric swirls and drones create a ticking, pensive, rhythmic background highly suitable for crime thriller, dark drama, investigative mystery. Hidden clues, a dangerous situation, or perhaps unveiling a dark secret? [Tempo: Medium / 81 BPM]
Underlying tension. A dark and creepy underscore track for horror or dark drama, criminal documentary or crime scene investigation. What gruesome discovery lies behind the next turn? A nervous, pensive background track. Clanky percussion, deep drones and a serious, tense undertow. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 115 BPM]
A transparent film or movie underscore, ambient but with a hint of emotion or personal intrigue. Good for a dark drama, mysterious or understated scene of discovery or reflection. [Tempo: Slow / 65 BPM]
A dark, cold and damp TV or film underscore cue. Pensive, unnerving and unsettling, this piece is suitable for a scene in a crime mystery, horror flick or perhaps a criminal documentary featuring evil or the occult, gruesome discoveries in forensics, crime scene investigation, etc. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
Dark, twisted and sinister electro-metal track. Eerie synths and hypnotic bass meet in a head-on collision to form a powerful formula . Imagine Nine Inch Nails jamming with Massive Attack and asking Jeff Beck to guest. [Tempo: Slow / 63 BPM]
Funky yet slightly sinister bouncey dance track. Synth basses, leads and drum loops. The chorus brings uplifting string and electric piano stabs and lines. Like Kraftwerk jamming with Earth, Wind and Fire... if only. Would suit thriller, spy/sci-fi or action projects. [Tempo: Medium / 100 BPM]
Many moods captured in an epic underscore. Begins with dark march and action-oriented outbursts, with interludes of tragic reflection and heroic themes. Second half is a furious action / march, always with a menacing and dark undertone. Good for medieval battle, attack of the evil empire, blood-soaked battleground. This track was recorded with a real live philharmonic orchestra. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow, Medium / 0 BPM]
Huge stabs give way to twisted maniacal anguish and haunted voices. Tragic theme introduces a grim march propelled by determination and grit. The theme is presented at the end in a burst of triumph and heroism. Good for epic battle, fight to the finish, dark action. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow, Medium, Fast / 0 BPM]
This dynamic track starts with unsettling intrigue and suspense, and develops into a flight-for-life. A broad orchestral theme tugs at the heart as the prey is mercilessly pursued. A sustained chord at the end leaves this track unresolved. Good for suspense, drama, thriller, horror. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow, Medium / 0 BPM]
Action and suspense soundtrack with a funky, retro feel similar to classic 60s and 70s film scores. Starts with a sparse, avant garde feel gradually building to a dramatic, driving funky groove with horns and strings. Also features piano, percussion, drums and bass. [Tempo: Medium / 112 BPM]
Enhance your scenes of long and dark winters, loneliness, mystery, broken hearts or breathtaking nature with this brooding, urban downtempo track featuring piano, pads, bells, bass and drums. Creates a real feeling of space and emptiness over a relaxed funky groove. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 77 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]
Full percussion and orchestral score suggests big open spaces, great adventures, new frontiers to conquer. Main battle drums set in after about a minute. [Tempo: Medium / 97 BPM]
An intense electronic action track. with massive drums, synth sounds and drones, an action-packed thrill-ride track perfect for emphasizing your next movie project. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 120 BPM]
A slow, pulsating, rather ominous and pensive rhythm sets the scene for a track that develops into an expansive, open aural vista. It has a sense of something important happening, something amazing approaching. It keeps growing into a glorious crescendo until finally all is revealed at the climax. A great track for when you want to build expectation and excitement towards the revealing moment. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
This track is recorded with a real live orchestra. A dramatic, at times disturbing, urgent and very nervy track for action, horror, chase, monsters, epic trailers, fantasy fight scene and more. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 0 BPM]
Is this business as usual or a front for an illegal operation? Suspenseful underscore, featuring odd-meter orchestral/electronic rhythmic vamp which gives the feeling of a working process, but at the same time of mischief, something not-quite-right. Good for mystery films and documentaries on crime. Key of D, 104 bpm. [Tempo: Slow / 103 BPM]
Edgy and dramatic percussive impact. Tense and aggressive music, with a tribal feel. Trailer / Battle / Epic Futuristic Music. [Tempo: Fast, Very fast / 130 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: Medium / 120 BPM]
Robert Schumann, Faschingsschwank aus Wien, Op. 26, IV. Intermezzo in E-flat minor. Performed live in studio by renowned concert pianist Vadim Chaimovich, exclusively for Shockwave-Sound.com. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 0 BPM]
A Percussion Only track, with big pounding drums in various more and less intense patterns. Useful as music for sound design, film scoring, games and more. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 80 BPM]