Metallica "I Disappear (Single & Video)"

"I Disappear" is a Metallica single originally formally released with the Mission: Impossible 2 soundtrack on May 9, 2000. The music and lyrics were written by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, and both men were joined by Bob Rock to produce the song. In both releases, "I Disappear" is four minutes, 26 seconds long.

Most of "I Disappear"'s music video was shot in Monument Valley atop a sandstone butte on April 13, 2000. After accessing the butte by helicopter, Metallica and their instruments were alone on the plateau, circled by filming aircraft, for over twelve hours. By the end of the shoot, winds were so severe that the drum kit was blown over—this accident stayed in the video. Ulrich was later filmed on a skyscraper in Downtown Los Angeles for "action sequences, explosions, chaos and mayhem".

The 2000 music video also featured a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro driven by Metallica band member James Hetfield. Hetfield was given the car after filming, and in 2003, listed it on eBay. With 77,000 miles (124,000 km) on the odometer, the restored two-door car had an automatic transmission and was bidding at US$70,100 (equivalent to $95,474 in 2018) with seven days remaining in the auction; proceeds from the sale were earmarked for music education programs.

While still working on the song, Metallica learned in 2000 that a pre-release version was being aired on US radio stations. The band traced the source of the song to the peer-to-peer file sharing service Napster. After finding their entire catalog available on Napster, they became the first musicians to file lawsuit against the service (Metallica v. Napster, Inc.). As of August 2019, "I Disappear" was available for streaming via the Napster streaming music service.

"I Disappear" was formally released with the Mission: Impossible 2 soundtrack on May 9, 2000. The single was released as a CD maxi on June 2, 2000 under the Hollywood Records label. In Belgium and Italy, the song was released by Edel-Mega Records. Metallica performed "I Disappear" 92 times from June 3, 2000 through August 10, 2013.

Track listing

The CD maxi single of "I Disappear" only had two tracks: the title song and its instrumental version.

1. "I Disappear" (James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich) – 4:26
2. "I Disappear (Instrumental)"