On March 28, 2020, Lou "L.A." Kouvaris — original guitarist of RIOT — died at his home on Long Island, New York, from complications related to COVID-19. He was sixty-six years old. Kouvaris was a founding member of the legendary New York heavy metal band RIOT, whose early work helped define the American power metal sound before the term even existed. He appeared on the band's debut album "Rock City" (1977) and contributed songwriting to "Narita" (1979), two albums that would influence generations of metal musicians. Though Kouvaris departed RIOT after "Narita," his early contributions helped establish the band's foundation of melodic, aggressive heavy metal that would reach its peak on "Fire Down Under" (1981) and "Thundersteel" (1988). His death during the early, chaotic weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City was one of the first high-profile losses in the metal community to the virus.