Phrygian
A minor mode with a flat 2nd — dark and exotic
Phrygian is a minor major mode with a flat 2nd — the darkest of the three. The flat 2nd, just one semitone above the root, creates a distinctive, exotic tension. Intense and dramatic.
Built on the 3rd degree of the major scale. Its minor pentatonic subset is shared with dorian and aeolian; the ♭2 and ♭6 give Phrygian its unmistakable character.
Common in flamenco, metal, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean music, and film scores (tension and menace).