I'd like to know as well. I have two pairs of 8's, one with miles on it and the other stayed in the locker for couple of year with less the frequent news.

Anyway, I had worn the less used SST 8 and it's really really stiff. I remember it being that way fresh OOB.

I wonder too if these two shoes mentioned by the OP have a softer feel than the 8's..

I don't have the tanks. I tried them on a few years ago and they didn't feel right. Of course, that's just me.
 
I went to 9s after wearing a pair of SST8s for 5 years. The 9s are different. They have a slightly more narrow profile and they need almost no time for break-in. I like their feel. Still, In my opinion, the slide toe design is disappointing. It took me 5 years to wear out the toe on my SST8s. It took me less than 18 months on the 9s. The sole/toe is replaceable (which I did) but it's expensive. The leather tip on the SST8s is a much better design. 
 
I currently have the 9s and a pair of TPU-X. I use both. I really like the soft feel of the TPUs, but the support of 9s is superior. The search for the perfect shoe continues.....

No experience with the Tank and have 2 games on my THE 9s.  I came from SST5 Sports that started to fall apart after 6+ years.

I didn't want to spend the money on the THE 9s but after looking at everything available, I decided to go ahead and get them.  Right out of the box they were very comfortable, no break in needed.  The only "issue" is the fact that they only come with the soles/heels that are on the shoe and extra soles are $30 each while the 8s came with an assortment.  The S7 sole that they come with are something I will never use and had to order a S8 and S10.  I'll probably end up ordering a S9 and S11 at some point as well.  Anything less than the S8 is far too tacky for me.  I'm sure the S7 is fine for most, but the S8 used to be the standard, not sure why they went down to the S7.

The real test is league tonight.  I do tend to drag my toe a bit and after reading some of the above comments, I hope the toe holds up better for me than other folks, otherwise I'm not going to be happy because of how expensive they were.