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 mysterious, dark, ambient music track made with evolving strings and dark drones. Dark / Sci-Fi / Ambient / Unsettling Music. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 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]
A mystical soundtrack with a slightly psychedelic or otherworldly feel, like a feeling that something is not right. Deliberately somewhat off-key, to give you that slightly queasy or uneasy feeling. A nice track for murder mystery, paranormal activity, crime and detective work, eerie film noir, etc. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Slow / 95 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]
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 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]
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 / 96 BPM]
New classical music for film, drama, TV, and storytelling. Piano with light orchestra. Thoughtful / Questioning / Story developing. Great background music for scenes of work, progress, movement, information flow. Detective work, information coming to light, a mystery being unfolded. [Tempo: Medium / 108 BPM]
This track is an intensely dark orchestral piece with apocalyptic overtones and will work great with horror, thrillers and sci-fi. Its' ominous, foreboding tone has an epic intensity that would suit battle scenes, video-games, and fantasy footage as well. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 90 BPM]
A dramatic and orchestral track with big drums and a sense of forward movement, increasing towards a final crescendo. Foreboding, staccato. Marching and relentless, like an unstoppable force. Also available without the drums, and as a version with the drums by themselves. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 80 BPM]
A dramatic, semi-orchestral and cinematic track filled with rousing emotions, building tension. A sense of witnessing history in the making, amazement and heroism. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 90 BPM]
A tense and dark action / sci-fi / thriller underscore. Dark pads and twitchy, ethereal soundscapes, with action thriller style drum / percussion parts. Think horror / mystery / science fiction / dark drama. Can also be for very edgy sports footage. Available with or without the drums. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
An intense, royalty free cinematic music track featuring dramatic strings, deep bass and suspense snare section. Filled with energy, rising sounds, and deep sub bass synths. The melody is carried by a big horn section. Danger / Critical Situation / Rescue Mission etc. [Tempo: Medium / 125 BPM]
A dramatic and high-impact soundtrack with an action drama feel, combined with some ethnic and mystery elements. Somewhat eerie, edgy, alien, and mystical. Action thriller / Fantasy / Sci-fi / Danger. (Stem files available.) [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 120 BPM]
Battle drums / marching percussion. A combination of orchestral percussion and ethnic / tribal drums. Suitable for battle, fight, chase, conflict, etc. [Tempo: Slow / 75 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, Very fast / 120 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]
A tense, pensive underscore for a dramatic scene with an Italian or Sicilian slant. Perhaps New York Mafia, historical drama, or a chase / battle / conflict scene set against a backdrop of Italy / Sicily or Eastern Europe / Traditional Europe. Mandolin and violin with battle percussion, orchestral strings and brass stabs. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 75 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]
Pensive / Active / Uneasy / Hurried Music. Neo-classical, light orchestra arrangement, suitable as music for film, drama, TV and other media. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 156 BPM]
Royalty free dark, industrial sound design, powerful and tense hard-hitting percussion. Edgy / Force / Dark. [Tempo: Medium / 115 BPM]
Dark and ominous, foreboding and hard pounding, cinematic track. Orchestra, choir and big drums. Dramatic / Epic / Edgy / Powerful / Dark. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 98 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, 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]
Classic horror flick type material, with mystical chords and stabbing rhythms. Hypnotic feel. The creepy crawlies are out to get you! [Tempo: Slow / 84 BPM]
A mixture of electronic synths, percussion and strings are used to generate a sense of risk. The constant pulse throughout adds to the anxiety, making this ideal for game shows with elimination rounds. [Tempo: Slow / 63 BPM]
Not for the faint-hearted! Menacing Score track with powerful drums and diverse aggressive, distorted sounds. Evil, scary and very dark. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 120 BPM]
Driving Score track with e-guitars, effects and heavy drum/percussion sounds. Edgy, menacing and aggressive. Good for action, pursuits and thrilling fight scenes. [Tempo: Slow / 120 BPM]
Dark and mysterious Score track with strings, horn section, sound effects and energetic percussions. Very atmospheric, dramatic and highly diversified. Ideal for thriller and all kinds of suspense. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 120 BPM]
A lonely music box melody builds to a full orchestra before ending as it begins. Dark, tense and climactic but not too scary, family oriented horror. Good for trailers, video games, cartoons, halloween, quirky Tim Burton type films and even commercials. [Tempo: Slow / 70 BPM]
The Third Reich is to Hitler what the Imperial March was for Darth Vader. It begins with a simple staccato violin pattern and flute melody until the call of horns introduces the ground-shattering beat, synonymous to the force of military tanks. When you thought things were rough, an epic finale kicks in. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 60 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 slow and dramatic hybrid orchestral track that brings to mind struggle, confrontation, battles, war and the fallen soldiers. Reflecting and dwelling on past events. Heavy drums, electronic elements, pulsating strings and slow somber brass. [Tempo: Slow / 108 BPM]
A dark, ominous and dramatic film underscore music using a combination of electronic and orchestral elements. This track starts out sneaky and foreboding with staccato synth pattern and grows over time, gradually building up the intensity towards a climax at about 1:26. An element of mystery, conspiracy and intrigue. A very serious tone which sets the scene for crime, thriller, spy movie/game etc. [Tempo: Slow / 155 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]
Creepy orchestration suggests an approaching evil menace or a supernatural event. Steeped in suspense, this dark, sinister piece builds towards a horrific & sudden conclusion. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
This frightening music bed has apocalyptic overtones and would be well suited for, horror, thriller, or fantasy footgae about paranormal and occult subject matter as well as video-games and trailers. Its suggests something evil lurking, and makes for a nice tension builder that features an intense, climactic riser. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
Frightening dark ambient horror music bed featuring the sounds of sinister spirits knocking, broken piano, and scary choir. TV static and plenty of door smashes for that extra eerieness well suited for horror, thriller, suspense and fantasy footage, as welll as video games. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
This track has an eerie and deranged mood. It has hints of psychosis and insanity and features the main melody played on a detuned toy music box. It would be well suited for footage and video games about horror, suspense, fantasy and paranormal subject matter. [Tempo: Slow / 0 BPM]
This horror underscore has hellish overtones and would be well suited for, horror, thriller, or fantasy footgae about paranormal and occult subject matter as well as video-games and trailers. Its' slow, slithery pace has suggests something evil lurking, and makes for a nice tension builder that features an intense, climactic riser. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
This track has a haunted overtone and pays a subtle homage to the music 'Dexter' in the theme. This cue would work well for film or television, opening credits, paranormal footage and spooky movie trailers. It features detuned piano and haunting choirs that makes a nice ghostly tension builder. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 70 BPM]
This track is a frightening dark ambient music bed that is well suited for horror, thrillers, suspense, fantasy footage, as welll as video games. It has haunting overtones that make a nice tension builder. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
This track is a high Intensity action / chase cue with a primal, menacing tone. It's full of suspense and works well for footage of battles, war scenes, chases, and beasts. It's also well suited for video games and builds into a riser at the end that has a cinematic impact great for film trailers. Apocalypto meets Jurassic Park. [Tempo: Fast / 125 BPM]
Useful for animation and short animated story of two parts. Anxiety and mystery, thrill and unanswered riddle in first part. Then it quickly switches to second part which has more tension and is more dynamic, pefect for telling sad story about kind of bad thing which happened somewhere. [Tempo: Medium / 122 BPM]
Electronica, experimental, underscore. Haunting, Techno, Science / electronics. [Tempo: Fast / 144 BPM]
Somber and mysterious. An hypnotic and suspenseful piano with dark and shadowy strings. Great for suspense documentaries or crime scenes depiction. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 120 BPM]
Tires squealing, sirens blaring, adrenalin flowing. The Chase begins. Dramatic, suspenseful, powerful track mixing electronic and orchestral elements. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 81 BPM]
Energetic percussion/electronic track with impelling synth riffs, huge orchestral drums. Perfect for action films, extreme sports and trailers. [Tempo: Slow, Fast / 120 BPM]
Eerie, tense, percussive soundscape with a relentless spooky melody, dark metalic FX and flute sweeps. Atmospheric with a sense of suspense and imminent danger. Menacing and sinister. 48 hours, The Mentalist, Castle, Alien Invasion, crime drama, horror, Sci-Fi. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 105 BPM]
This track combines strange noises with unusual, repeated, freaky piano melodies. This would work well as part of a freaky dream or nightmare sequence. It also could work quite well in the horror genre or during a haunting. Also quite perfect for Halloween and haunted houses. [Tempo: Slow / 0 BPM]