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.
Ominous synths with pounding drums set the scene, while solo violin creates a lyrical and emotional mood. Huge brass section enters at 0:55 to create a massive sounding theme along with violins and booming crunchy drums. Epic in every sense - good for a movie trailer. [Tempo: Slow / 125 BPM]
Electronic elements mixed with a huge dark brass section. Incredible sounding distorted drums mixed with orchestral instruments make this a unique sounding cue. Similar in style to Tron with cool synths and Inception for the massive brass section. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 120 BPM]
A dark piece with swelling tension and pounding drums. Your anti-hero will thank you. [Tempo: Slow / 80 BPM]
The massive brass and string stabs in this intense modern orchestral track will bring an epic jolt of energy to any production. Good for promos, commercials and trailers. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 144 BPM]
A combination of ethnic instruments and modern cinematic orchestra and synth layers, this track is perfect for livening any project with an Eastern setting. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 100 BPM]
A tribal and primal sounding peace built on percussion grooves and mysterious, drone like synth pulses. Influences from ancient world cultures come together with futuristic, sci-fi type sounds, to create a fusion of past, present and future. Ominous, mysterious, tense. Think tribes, jungle, rainforest, world beat / mystery. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
A busy, whimsical and mischievous orchestral cue. Playful, but a bit naughty or evil. Good energy level. A fun, filmscore, orchestral romp! Inspired by Tim Burton / Danny Elfman. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 161 BPM]
A quirky, dark and staccato, almost broken-up piece of orchestral fantasy music, inspired by the styles of Tim Burton & Danny Elfman. Playful in a playfully dark, wicked way. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 102 BPM]
Electronica infused orchestral music. Synth low pulse drives the music with anticipation, joined by low drones and epic percussion. Orchestra comes in and takes the piece to the next level. Good for war preparation, rendezvous scenes, crime investigation and more. Cinematic, Action, War, Crime, Police. [Tempo: Medium / 85 BPM]
Inspired by 80's sci-fi and horror films revived today by Stranger Things. Ominous blend of synthesizers and orchestral tones, with a repetitive tense motif. Cinematic, Thriller, Suspense, Terror, Sci-Fi, Retro. [Tempo: Slow / 84 BPM]
Big, rugged action track, with mystery. Evokes a feeling of a inspired group marching toward a common goal. Also good for crime / crime in progress / criminal investigation, etc. Features large Epic Percussion. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
A tense, rhythmic, staccato track for secret missions and high pressure situations. [Tempo: Medium / 125 BPM]
Bold, percussion focused underscore with electronic and percussive elements. Dark, pensive and suspenseful soundscapes. Lazy Moog Lead. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 130 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]
Tense and cinematic, featuring eerie piano over a menacing synth pads, strings and military snare creates a mood of intense fear and suspense. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 130 BPM]
Rising and mysterious track featuring tense strings, swelling brass lines, electronic textures, piano and sparse punchy percussion. Mystical X-Files / Marvel feel. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 100 BPM]
Orchestra underscore. Cello and bass synth drive pace with piano, forboding brass and string lines. Espionage, spy theme feel. Crime, mystery, investigation. Dark, edgy. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
Crime, drama underscore - eerie and dark with distorted undertones, bit crushed bass and piano. Uncomfortable and Tense. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 128 BPM]
An epic music track with a dark atmosphere and uprising mood. The track opens with a dark analog synth, layered with moody piano notes and effects. Cinematic strings and taiko drums help build tension to the main reveal. The main part of the track explodes with huge distorted drums, a call to action melody and epic string section. Suitable as music for video game and movie trailers, action scenes, scenes of battle or hero struggle. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 155 BPM]
A slowly rising, epic music track - developing into melodic anthem. Suspenseful, uplifting, orchestral. Amazement / Wonderment music. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 145 BPM]
A dark, atmospheric and mystical music track made in an orchestral arrangement. In the style of Lord of the Rings or the darker parts of Harry Potter, this piece is suitable as music for a dark fantasy adventure project, whether it is a game or a movie. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 100 BPM]
An atmospheric, eerie and dramatic music track with a hybrid orchestral / electronic production. Space / Sci-fi / Future / Dramatic Music. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 120 BPM]
A dark, cold and evil, orchestral soundtrack influenced by classic horror movies. Sneaky, then violent. Foreboding, then murderous. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 60 BPM]
A somewhat mystical and intriguing, orchestral score for drama, family adventure, fantasy or storytelling. Slightly quirky and stormy, this piece has a sense of intrigue, wonder - and perhaps a new angle? [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
A threatening and dramatic score for horror / thriller / chiller, with a retro sound and feel. Reminiscent of classic horror movies. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 0 BPM]
A dark, gloomy and dramatic soundtrack, telling of extreme danger or a grave situation. Systematically pounding percussion gives the sense of an overwhelming force, while increasing strings build the tension ever higher. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 80 BPM]
Aggressive and dark music track made with epic hits, risers, synths and more. Will suit as music for sci-fi projects, post apocalyptic and dark footage, trailers and teasers that need a punchy, gritty, in-your-face sound design. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
Exotic, futuristic and atmospheric track made with various synths, percussion and erhu. Mystical and Eerie, with a sense of ancient history meets distant future. [Tempo: Slow / 90 BPM]
An electronic and orchestral piece, with elements of dubstep. Heavy tension is strongly present throughout, and the overall feel is reminiscent of an epic film battle. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 80 BPM]
An epic, cinematic instrumental piece. Tension builds from the beginning as heavy, stabbing electronic sounds pulse and grow into a driving electronic/orchestral groove near the end. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
A moody and exotic music track with tension and suspense. Dark and alluring, with a sense of impending danger or doom. Ethnic world / Exotic / Foreign feel / Middle Eastern influence. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Medium / 85 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]
The title says it all, really, this is a film soundtrack / film mood underscore with a very suspenseful nerve, in fully orchestral / symphonic arrangement. Good for thriller, horror, suspense, fantasy, Halloween, etc. [Tempo: Slow / 0 BPM]
A mysterious, dark, ambient music track made with evolving strings and dark drones. Dark / Sci-Fi / Ambient / Unsettling Music. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
This track has an eerie mood, yet still suggesting hints of something whmsical, and perhaps mischievous. It would be well suited for footage and video games about horror, fantasy and paranormal subject matter. [Tempo: Slow / 134 BPM]
A dark, evil and emotive score. Very climatic, brilliant, intense and epic. Available with or without the dramatic choir section. [Tempo: Slow / 64 BPM]
Dark and suspenseful blockbuster music track starting slowly, and building into epic climax. It has repetitive melody on bells, later brought by brass ensemble. Suitable as music for blockbuster and trailer type videos and commercials. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 115 BPM]
Dark, cinematic and light suspenseful music track made with chamber orchestra. No divided parts. Dark / Spooky / Eerie / Quirky music. [Tempo: Medium / 145 BPM]
A brooding theme for a dystopian world. Unsettling, yet strangely evocative. Would suit a TV thriller style title sequence, Sci-Fi game or futuristic commercial. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 90 BPM]
Ominous and arid western atmosphere, inspired by modern TV drama like Breaking Bad and CSI. Crime and gangster feel, as well as police investigation mood. [Tempo: Slow / 90 BPM]
A very dark and disturbing tension bed, featuring a pulsating, tense rhythmic beat, way dark pads and a sickly, disturbing cacophony of eerie drones and noises. Suitable for horror, mystery, thriller, crime and more. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Medium / 85 BPM]
A dramatic, cinematic, orchestral piece of amazement and heroism. This piece gradually builds up from an ominous, dark beginning, increasing into a crescendo towards the end. [Tempo: Slow / 74 BPM]
An impactful orchestral cinematic track with a grand and pompous orchestra sound. A sense of danger, tension, threat and urgency, with occasional battle- or chase type drums. Urgent and heroic. [Tempo: Medium, Fast, Very fast / 124 BPM]
An orchestral, cinematic track filled with drama and heroic action, and with a 'big sky' orchestral production suitable for Hollywood movies. Valiant / Hero / Amazement / Grandeur / Fantasy. The action picks up from around 30 seconds in. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 140 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]
This orchestral cinematic cue contains two parts/sections. The first 30 seconds has a strong tension and a rhythmic pulse, with a foreboding, dark tone. The second part, from about 30 seconds onwards, is more melancholic, sorrowful and wistful, with a sense of loss or realization. [Tempo: Slow / 90 BPM]
Edgy, orchestral and electronic music mood. Imposing and tense, building throughout. Epic / Futuristic / Powerful music track. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 0 BPM]
A dark and dramatic, tense and uneasy music track for danger and dramatic scenes. This track has an underlying nerve, a building, increasing arrangement that grows into an all-out action track from about 01:15. Intense, fiery, and good music for extreme danger, battle, critical situations and more. This track has a lot of starts, stops and sections, parts and "edit points", making it highly suitable for editing to fit the timing of your own footage. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
A dramatic, staccato, pounding track featuring orchestra and epic percussion. Situation critical, imminent danger. Rhythmic and dark, this track starts with a somewhat mystical tone and then grows and develops into a hard, stormful, tense march. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 140 BPM]
An edgy, loud, intense and powerful blockbuster royalty free music track featuring a synthesis of orchestra, synths and smashing percussions. Suitable as music for epic videos and powerful footage. [Tempo: Medium / 125 BPM]