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.
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]
An ominous, edgy, tense, semi-orchestral and semi-industrial action soundtrack. Orchestra with epic percussion, majestic sounding choir. Glorious / glorifying but also tense / terror / dark power, with a technology / mechanical edge. Good for dramatic trailers, modern and futuristic warfare, battle / fight, sci-fi and fantasy, action adventure, raw/violent sports footage and more. Also available as a Rock Mix with added power guitars and rock drums, and as an alternative version without the choir. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 136 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]
Dark, twisted electronic track full of foreboding. Sinister synth pads and bass combine with simple spacey piano lines and lush strings. The chorus blooms into a soft peaceful section, a release from the foreboding mood of the verse. [Tempo: Medium / 116 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]
Film / TV Series / Game underscore track. Both ambient and rhythmic, the track has a strong sense of a stealth mission. Sneaking, hiding, sniping, etc. In addition to the main mix, there is also an 'alternative mix' that cuts out some of the instruments, leaving a more sparse sound, perhaps even better for background use. Of the 8 loops available, the first 5 are taken from the main mix and the last 3 from the alternative mix. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 108 BPM]
Menacing, ominous underscore track for dark, futuristic scene or opening sequence in sci-fi or horror film/game. Mix of electronic and orchestral elements, occasional fragments of unintelligible radio messages with static. [Tempo: Medium / 75 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 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]
"Constructing the Machine". A pulsing and building orchestral thriller montage cue underscoring anything from working mathematical formulas to constructing a time machine. Rhythmic percussion, brass, strings, ambient fx, electronic instruments. [Tempo: Medium / 128 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]
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]
Weird underscore soundscape for thriller, dark drama, crime scene investigation or documentary. Hints of screeching metals, deep thuds and strange twisted melodies from a dark place. A disturbing sound montage like a hidden evil or searching for clues to a gruesome discovery. Great for film, TV or in-game use. [Tempo: Medium / 83 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]
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]
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]
Live chamber orchestra, string section playing a classical / filmscore theme with a sense of urgency and development. [Tempo: Fast / 122 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]
A twisted, dark and discordant waltz opens this dynamic epic track of courage and determination that also shows a sad and tragic emotional side. Voices create a medieval undertone. The track finishes with dark orchestral stabs and hangs on a barely resolved violin phrase. Good for dark battle, epic defeat. [Tempo: 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]
This is a collection of tracks depicting an experience of survival training, personal challenge and conquering of fear. All of the moods are captured; introspection and trepidation, fear, anxiety, striving, success and triumph. Highly editable and flexible, these are tracks that are designed to underscore and support without being too specific. Stings and alternate versions are provided for many of the tracks. Piano and guitar are featured. Many tracks share the principal themes, creating a coherent show package. Good for outdoor TV series, reality shows, lifestyle programming, documentary, nature programming, history. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow, Medium, Fast / 0 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]
A creature from beyond time and space appears, accompanied by massive, cinematic, trailer-style orchestra and choir! [Tempo: Fast / 151 BPM]
A percussion driven track, good for a military march scene. Note: This track starts *very* quietly and grows in a very slow crescendo. You will hardly hear anything until it starts to build up enough volume around 00:30 onwards. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 98 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]
A wide, brooding cinematic soundscape featuring spacey pads, a rhythmic topline and deep, distant drum fills. Evoking images of distant horizons, infinite space or world changing natural events. Suggests documentary style programming covering ecology, science & technology, future cataclysmic events and large scale discoveries. [Tempo: Medium / 123 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]
Action build-up / Gear-up / Hollywood action/tech/scifi. A pensive and at times grand, heroic orchestral film soundtrack piece which blends electronic instruments and symphony orchestra for a technology / futuristic feel. This rather long track goes through various stages, some of which are pensive and foreboding, others more heroic, more regal and grand. This track will go well with any high-tech / sci-fi / war- or action film. (A note about the version described as 'Stage Mix': This version is recorded with the reverb/ambiance of a concert hall, making it sound somewhat more 'distant' from the listener and, some would say, more 'live') [Tempo: Medium / 61 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]
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, Fast / 130 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]
Warm and ambient underscore music that build from fast synth to patterns to a airy atmospheric with underlying Les Paul tones. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
Heavy and edgy music, featuring a gritty electric guitar riff, driving drums, buzzy synth, epic piano and percussive hits that create a bold and rebellious mood. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
Dark and pulsing music track, featuring tense strings, electronic textures and sparse punchy percussion creates a foreboding and fearful mood [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
Floating and building music track, featuring pulsing electronic elements, dark atmospheric textures and dramatic percussion that creates tension. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 128 BPM]
Dark and gritty music featuring an introspective piano melody and underlying guitar riff and drone textures that create a reflective and suspenseful mood. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 112 BPM]
A dark, cinematic music track filled with ambience and mystical drone sounds, which slowly evolve into a massive epic track . It is a combination of machine sounds, synths and classical orchestra, featuring symphonic choir at the end of the music track. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
Mystical, eerie, cold and pulsating soundtrack for Scifi or Mystery. Brooding, pensive music and awe inducing. Creates a feeling of unknown tension, and a vast space. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
Imagine a word at the edge of the galaxy, dark with mysterious creatures. This music sets a Hollywood space scene, the use of vintage synths give a strange feel to the cue. Strong use of drums towards the later end of the song increases the mysterious feel and dynamic rage for an epic climax. [Tempo: Medium / 127 BPM]