The Best Epic Music of 2020

If you want to create an impact with your video content, you’ll need an epic music track to complement your footage or animation. In this post, we’ll round up the best epic music available to download with an Envato Elements subscription, including the most popular epic music tracks.

Epic music exists to accompany moments of bravery and suspense, hope and determination. So with the year we’ve had, it’s no surprise that epic music has become a huge trend in 2020. But what exactly is an epic?

Homeric epics were poems that narrated the deeds of the heroes of Greek myth and legend. As people in 1200BC were not so hot when it came to reading and writing, these stories had to be thrilling enough to stand the test of time through word of mouth alone.

Amazing epic music tries to convey the same sense of scale and grandeur of these Bronze Age blockbusters. At its bombastic best, it makes whatever you’re doing (or witnessing) feel like a really big deal. As a genre, it’s inextricably linked with the silver screen and the daring acts of its protagonists, but soaring crescendos and thunderous drums can impart a sense of the sublime to everyday activities, too. Try sending a difficult email or unloading the dishwasher to Hans Zimmer’s Inception soundtrack and see if these tasks don’t feel a little more urgent. It’s part of what makes epic music such a great motivational aid. These are epic songs that amp up the energy and tension while imparting a sense of importance to events.

Epic music is inescapably cinematic, so it stands to reason that the best examples of the genre are to be found on screens both little and large. Take, for example, Ramin Djawadi’s Emmy Award-winning Game of Thrones theme. Here, pounding drums and brooding cellos take you to a world of icy kings, skeletal dragons, and backbiting nobles with (literal) axes to grind. It’s big, brash, and totally engrossing. A modern classic of the epic genre.

Epic music doesn’t have to mean swords and shaggy beards, though. Prefer your epic music with 80s synthesizers and sunglasses at night? Brad Fiedel’s Terminator 2: Judgement Day soundtrack has you covered. It’s explosive, engaging, and perfectly suited for this apocalyptic, action-packed film.

Ready to take your content from the mundane to the sublime with the help of an epic music mix? We thought you might be. That’s why our Content Specialist for Audio, Adrien Gardiner has lovingly selected ten of the most awe-inspiring royalty-free tracks this side of Middle Earth. Enjoy!

If you’re looking for a track with a sense of urgency, drop everything that you’re doing. We’ve got what you’re looking for right here. Widescreen strings build and build to a soaring crescendo, before fading to black with a determined piano riff. Epic indeed.

Conjure up images of distant lands, exotic sights, and memories waiting to be made with a track that sounds like wanderlust feels. It even recreates that nervous optimism that you get in your stomach before you embark on something new. An epic track for the adventurers among us.

A track that evokes determination in the face of fear. We can see this one accompanying a montage of the long days and longer nights fighting for something difficult. Something that’s all the more worthwhile for it.

A confident build-up that sparkles with enthusiasm and professionalism. This track will leave your audience in no doubt whatsoever that they’re in for something special.

Cavernous drums and searing synthesizers combine to make this epic a firecracker of excitement and drama. What is more, the delicate use of space, pianos, and delay effects mean that there’s just the right amount of calm before the storm hits. And what a storm it is.

An electronic riser guides the listener into a flurry of strings in this balanced yet relentlessly energetic track.

Grab an overpriced snack of choice and for the love of Morgan Freeman turn off your phone, because this track was made for the multiplex. Produced with a high-budget thriller in mind and oh boy does it nail the vibe. Oscar-worthy.

A perfectly poised whirlwind of strings. Awe-inspiring without the melodrama, this one is tailor-made for the corporate world or current affairs.

A groovy, 80s-inspired synth-wave epic that transports you to the world of chunky sci-fi space stations and scissor-door Lamborghinis at the same time. Simply electric.

Sawtooth synthesizers and skittering drums make this one a thunderbolt of pure energy. A kinetic track that simply demands your audience sit up and take notice.

We made it! Now you know how and why to use epic music in your productions, and we can’t wait to check out the colossal content you’ll be forging with any one of the tracks featured in our list. These are big tracks, so we’re expecting big things.

Although we have reached the end of our quest for the most epic tracks available to mankind, it need not mean goodbye. Feeling inspired by something on our list? Get unlimited access to each and every one of the epic tracks featured with a subscription to Envato Elements.

And, don’t forget to subscribe our YouTube channel for more music mixes.