| I Disappear | |
| Cover: | Metallica - I Disappear cover.jpg |
| Alt: | A square image consisting entirely of fire with the following superimposed thereon, from top-to-bottom: "Metallica", "I Disappear", "From the Motion Picture", "M:I-2", and the silhouette of a bird. |
| Caption: | Cover art of the single |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Metallica |
| Album: | Mission: Impossible 2 |
| Label: | Hollywood |
| Producer: |
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| Prev Title: | No Leaf Clover |
| Prev Year: | 2000 |
| Next Title: | St. Anger |
| Next Year: | 2003 |
"I Disappear" is a single by Metallica from the Mission: Impossible 2 soundtrack, which released on May 9, 2000. The music and lyrics were written by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, and they were joined by Bob Rock to produce the song. The song's leak on the file-sharing service Napster prompted the band to sue the service. The soundtrack single was released on June 2, 2000.
Most of "I Disappears 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, footage of which appears 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 on the odometer, the restored two-door car had an automatic transmission and was bidding at 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.)., "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. In the chronology of Metallica singles, "I Disappear" was released between "No Leaf Clover" (March 20, 2000) and "St. Anger" (June 23, 2003). Metallica performed "I Disappear" 93 times from June 3, 2000, through December 19, 2021.
On April 23, 2021, Metallica released the two-track Disappear (Leaked and Live) through their Vinyl Club. The first song is "I Disappear (Leaked Napster Version)", and the second is "I Disappear (Live)", a live performance recorded at the West Hollywood House of Blues on July 18, 2000.
Music critic Mike McGuirk (of the San Francisco Bay Guardian) described "I Disappear" as leaning on a reworking of "Enter Sandman" with an incorporation of some grunge aesthetic. McGuirk said that following Metallica's Load, which he called their "country record", this new song with a "mega" riff and "catchy as hell" melodic choruses proved that the band was not afraid to change things up.
The CD maxi single of I Disappear has only two tracks, the title song and its instrumental version.
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) | 22 |
| Greece (IFPI) | 6 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[1] | 2 |
| US Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)[2] | 3 | |
| US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[3] | 36 |