The story of the greatest Pierce The Veil cover of all time

Every so often in our lifetime, we find something that brings us unfailing, unadulterated joy. Something so pure and innocent, so untouched by the cruelty of mankind, that it stands alone as a beacon of hope in a world of darkness and fear.

For me, that thing is JandE covers’ video, “pierce the veil- king for a day (vocal cover).”

Oh, “king for a day,” how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. First and foremost, this cover—posted under the moniker of JandE covers on Jan. 12, 2013—is good. The many trolls of the world wide web flock to this video in droves, ready to spew their hatred unto the comments. Thanks to J and E’s magic, however, those very trolls leave impressed by the screaming and clean vocal abilities of these young boys, as evidenced by the impressive like-to-dislike ratio.

But the real sell on this video is its many nuances: the impeccable harmonies through the second chorus, or perhaps the self-censorship on more profane lines (“The thought of you’s not very fun”).

I chanced upon this video, entirely out of the blue, about a month ago. It has captivated me and nearly every employee in this office since that fateful day. And yet, beyond my joy, I was left in constant turmoil over so many questions: Has Pierce The Veil seen this? Which is J, and which is E? What do those letters stand for? How old are they in the video? And most importantly, where are they now?

Never once did I imagine that these questions would lead me on the emotional journey of a lifetime.

Through light research, I found out that J and E are Josh and Eli Debey, and they are brothers. Isn’t that the greatest thing you ever heard? Their joint channel has only one video on it, the PTV cover. Comments informed me that they had lost the password to the channel.

My obsession grew, and we screened the video on my office computer practically every day.  We even made Pierce The Veil watch it when they came into the office. (They had already seen it.) (And they loved it.)

YouTube comments sent me down the right path, pointing me to the boys’ new solo YouTube channels. One video’s description directed me to Operazoo, what looks to be the boys’ short-lived band. Here’s their last post on the page:

But alas, nothing gold can stay. Josh Debey renounced the scene in a video ominously called “Changes…”

Which meant no more Bring Me The Horizon or Crown The Empire covers, all since taken down. Instead, the brothers turned to bands like Rings Of Saturn and Upon A Burning Body—and my, how they’ve grown. Which is unfortunate, because they had a real Issues thing going.

Still, my heart broke with the knowledge that I would never again witness the pure innocence encapsulated in the first “King For A Day.”

But THEN.

THEN!

This morning, I logged onto YouTube to find the new Sum 41 video (which is dope, by the way) and THIS appeared in my recommended videos—a NEW cover of “King For A Day” posted JUST SIX DAYS AGO!

So much has changed, including the octave in which they sing, but I’ll take what I can get. “You’re fucking welcome,” the description reads. Thank you, JandE. Thank you.

UPDATE: July 1, 2017

We couldn't not share the news that Josh Debey has now released a solo record—on 4/20 of this year. He shared the update in a video posted on March 27, filling in on why he's been so absent.

His solo project, Anthropomorphic Mutation, is described as a “1 man slamming deathgrind” on his Instagram, and if you'd like to see how far Debey has come since his PTV days, give his new EP a listen below.

And Josh's brother, Elijah Debey, has been keeping up with his musical endeavors as well, posting vocal covers to his YouTube channel—including this Knocked Loose “Deadringer” cover from November 2016.

And while we're not sure where their musical endeavors will take them, we will conclude this with a thank you. Thank you, JandE, for that PTV cover that has truly changed our lives.