There are multiple groups named Ashes.

The first Ashes was a 60's folk-rock band from California who released a self-titled album in 1968 and a few singles, more or less in the same style of bands like Jefferson Airplane and The Byrds.

The second Ashes was a Washington, DC-based post-hardcore band that featured Brian McTernan of Battery fame and Elena Ritchie on vocals. They existed in the early to mid 90s. Ashes released two EPs on a now-defunct California label named Network Sound entitled Ashes and Hiding Places. A discography was released on McTernan's own label Salad Days called Wisconcin Avenue Tour.

The third Ashes is a one man black metal band from the UK. Till this day, Ahes has released 2 demos : Blackened Wrath in '03 and Forest Funeral in '04 and two full length, under the title of "Hymns To A Grey Sky"(2005) and "Yggdrasil"(2007). Ahes plays pagan black metal with some ambient elements.

Davidian, the man behind Ashes was involved in a near fatal car crash in august. He is now out of intensive care, but needs alot more surgery before he can start to recover.
All musical & business projects have now understandably, been put on indefinite hiatus.

Fourth Ashes are/were a swedish Black/Death Metal-band. They released the album "Til Death Do Us Unite" via Necropolis Records in 1998.

Yet another group under this moniker is the brainchild of Italian musician Eraldo Bernocchi. They currently have three releases. The first from the early '90s, Ashland, was essentially Eraldo solo. In 1996, the lineup expanded to include uber-musician Bill Laswell and Raiz, formerly of Almamegretta. This incarnation released Corpus in 1996. After a ten year silence, this same line-up released Unisono on Edel Records in 2006.

And yet, even another band from either Virginia or Chicago named Ashes released the album Swirl in 1998 on Seraph. The album is a mixture of shoegazer pop songs and ambient instrumentals.

Ashes is also a black metal band from San German, Puerto Rico